Encoding information in beacon signals

ABSTRACT

Systems and methodologies are described that facilitate transmitting at least two different types of information in a single signal, whereby the different types of information can be encoded and decoded independently. Thus, changes to one type of information does not affect a second type of information.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 60/814,317, filed Jun. 16, 2006, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUS FORENCODING INFORMATION IN BEACON SIGNALS”, and U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 60/814,652, filed Jun. 16, 2006, entitled “METHODSAND APPARATUS FOR PROGRESSIVELY BROADCASTING INFORMATION IN BEACONSIGNALS”, and the entirety of these applications are incorporated hereinby reference. This application is related to co-pending patentapplication U.S. application Ser. No. 11/764,162 entitled, “ENCODINGINFORMATION IN BEACON SIGNALS”, and co-pending patent application U.S.application Ser. No. 11/764,165 entitled, “ENCODING INFORMATION INBEACON SIGNALS”, and co-pending patent application U.S. application Ser.No. 11/764,166 entitled, “PROGRESSIVELY BROADCASTING INFORMATION INBEACON SIGNALS”, all of which were filed Jun. 15, 2007.

BACKGROUND

I. Field

The following description relates generally to signaling in wirelesscommunications, and more particularly to using beacon signals for codinginformation to be used for a variety of purposes.

II. Background

In a wireless communication system, a serving station (e.g., a basestation) is providing service to other stations, referred to asterminals, in a geographical area. The serving station usually sendsbroadcast information to aid the terminals to learn necessary systeminformation about the service so that the terminals can determinewhether to use the service provided by the serving station or how toutilize the spectrum in general. The broadcast channel capacity islimited and, therefore, it may not be possible to send all the broadcastinformation at the same time. In general, different pieces of broadcastinformation may have different priorities and require differentbroadcasting cycles. It is desired that the transmission of thebroadcast information be robust (e.g., against uncertainties includingthe lack of timing and frequency synchronization between the servingstation and the terminals) and enable power-efficient signal processingalgorithms at the terminal receiver.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of one or more aspects inorder to provide a basic understanding of such aspects. This summary isnot an extensive overview of all contemplated aspects, and is intendedto neither identify key or critical elements nor delineate the scope ofany or all aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of oneor more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is presented later.

In accordance with one or more examples and corresponding disclosurethereof, various aspects are described in connection with improved waysof sending broadcast information in a wireless communications system.

An aspect relates to a method of transmitting a set of broadcastinformation bits using a predetermined set of bandwidth degrees offreedom. The method can include generating from a plurality of broadcastinformation bits a first subset of broadcast information bits and asecond subset of broadcast information bits. A predetermined set ofbandwidth of degrees of freedom can be partitioned into at least twosubsets. Each subset can include a plurality of bandwidth degrees offreedom. The method can also include choosing a subset from the at leasttwo subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom as a function of the firstsubset of broadcast information bits. At least one of the bandwidthdegrees of freedom in the chosen subset can be selected as a function ofthe second subset of broadcast information bits. A beacon signal can betransmitted in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom.

Another aspect is related to a wireless communications apparatus thattransmits a set of broadcast information bits. The apparatus can includea memory and a processor. The memory can retain instructions related togenerating a first subset of broadcast information bits and a secondsubset of broadcast information bits. The memory can further retaininstructions related to partitioning a set of bandwidth degrees offreedom into two or more subsets and deciding which subset to use as afunction of the first subset of broadcast information bits. One or morebandwidth degrees of freedom in the subset can be chosen as a functionof the second subset of broadcast information. Further instructions canrelate to sending the chosen one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom ina beacon signal. The processor can be coupled to the memory and can beconfigured to execute the instructions retained in the memory.

Still another aspect is related to a wireless communications apparatusthat enables independent coding of at least two subsets of informationin a beacon signal. The apparatus includes means for creating a firstsubset of broadcast information bits and a second subset of broadcastinformation bits from a plurality of broadcast information bits. Alsoincluded in apparatus can be a means for dividing a set of bandwidthdegrees of freedom into at least two subsets and a means for choosingone subset from the at least two subsets as a function of the firstsubset of broadcast information bits. A means for independentlyselecting at least one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosensubset as a function of the second subset of broadcast information canbe included in the apparatus as well as a means for selectivelytransmitting information in the at least one bandwidth degree offreedom.

Still another aspect relates to a machine-readable medium having storedthereon machine-executable instructions for producing a first and asecond subset of broadcast information bits and dividing a set ofbandwidth degrees of freedom into two or more subsets from a pluralityof broadcast information bits. The instructions can also relate toselecting a subset from the two or more subsets as a function of thefirst subset of broadcast information bits and selecting at least one ofthe set of bandwidth degrees of freedom in the selected subset as afunction of the second subset of broadcast information bits. A beaconsignal can be transmitted in the at least one selected bandwidth degreeof freedom.

A further aspect in a wireless communication system can relate to anapparatus that includes a processor. The processor can be configured tocreate a first and a second subset of broadcast information bits from aplurality of broadcast information bits and divide a set of bandwidthdegrees of freedom into at least two subsets in a predetermined mannerand independently of the set of broadcast information bits. Theprocessor can further be configured to choose a subset from the at leasttwo subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom as a function of the firstsubset of broadcast information bits and select at least one of thebandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosen subset as a function of thesecond subset of broadcast information bits. A beacon signal can betransmitted in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom ata power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higherthan an average transmission power used in each non-selected degree offreedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom, X being at least 10db.

In a related aspect is a method for receiving a set of broadcastinformation bits. The method includes receiving a beacon symbol in atleast one bandwidth degree of freedom and determining which bandwidthdegree of freedom was selected from a plurality of bandwidth degrees offreedom included in a subset. The method can also include ascertainingwhich subset was selected from at least two subsets of bandwidth degreesof freedom.

Another aspect relates to a wireless communications apparatus thatselectively decodes information received in a beacon signal. Theapparatus includes a memory and a processor. The memory can retaininstructions related to receiving a chosen one or more bandwidth degreesof freedom in a beacon signal, determining which bandwidth degrees offreedom was received from a subset, deciding which subset was selectedfrom two or more subsets and reconstructing a set of bandwidth degreesof freedom from the two or more subsets. The processor can be coupled tothe memory and can be configured to execute the instructions retained inthe memory.

Still another aspect relates to a wireless communications apparatus thatenables independent decoding of at least two subsets of informationreceived in a beacon signal. The apparatus can include a means forselectively receiving information in at least one bandwidth degree offreedom and a means for independently determining which one of aplurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom in a chosen subset wasreceived. Also included in apparatus can be a means for deciding whichsubset from at least two subsets included the at least one of abandwidth degrees of freedom. Also included can be a means for combiningthe at least two subsets into a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom. Ameans for decoding a plurality of broadcast information bits from thefirst subset of broadcast information bits and the second subset ofbroadcast information bits can also be included in apparatus.

Still a further aspect relates to a machine-readable medium havingstored thereon machine-executable instructions for receiving a beaconsignal in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom anddetermining which bandwidth degree of freedom in a subset that includesa plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom was received. Theinstructions can also relate to ascertaining which subset of broadcastinformation bits from at least two subsets was chosen for the beaconsignal.

In a wireless communication system, an aspect relates to an apparatuscomprising a processor. The processor can be configured to receive abeacon signal in at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom at apower in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higherthan an average transmission power used in each non-selected degree offreedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom. X being at least 10dB. The processor can further be configured to determine at least one ofthe bandwidth degrees of freedom in a chosen subset that the beaconsignal was received in and ascertain from which subset of bandwidthdegrees of freedom from at least two subsets that a set of bandwidthdegrees of freedom was divided.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the one or moreaspects comprise the features hereinafter fully described andparticularly pointed out in the claims. The following description andthe annexed drawings set forth in detail certain illustrative examplesof the one or more aspects. These examples are indicative, however, ofbut a few of the various ways in which the principles of various aspectsmay be employed and the described examples are intended to include allsuch aspects and their equivalents.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system in accordance withvarious aspects set forth herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a beacon signal in accordance with some aspects.

FIG. 3 illustrates another beacon signal that can be utilized with oneor more of the disclosed examples.

FIG. 4 illustrates yet another beacon that can be utilized with one ormore of the disclosed examples.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example system that facilitates transmittingindependent subsets of information.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example broadcast signal that can be sentutilizing the various examples disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates a representation of an example coding scheme asviewed by a system component.

FIG. 8 illustrates a coding “I” that can determine a sequence ofinformation bits.

FIG. 9 illustrates combining various information bits to produce asignal Z_(i).

FIG. 10 illustrates a broadcast signal representing value Z_(i).

FIG. 11 illustrates a system that facilitates interpreting subsets ofinformation included in a broadcast signal.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example representation of decoding a broadcastsignal.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example beacon signal when a second subset ofbroadcast information is repeatedly broadcast with a relatively shortbroadcasting cycle time.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example method of transmitting a set of broadcastinformation bits in accordance with the disclosed aspects.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example method of decoding two subsets ofbroadcast information from a beacon symbol in accordance with variousaspects.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example method of operating a base station.

FIG. 17 illustrates an example method that facilitates interpretation ofa waveform mapping representation received in a communication.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example method that uses a set of frequency tonesin a set of time symbols for transmitting information.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example method for interpretation of atransmitted signal that signifies a frequency tone in a set of timesymbols.

FIG. 20 illustrates a portion of a broadcast message that includestiming information.

FIG. 21 illustrates information bits that can be utilized to determinetiming information.

FIG. 22 illustrates an example bit stream that includes timinginformation.

FIG. 23 illustrates an example message that utilizes one or more of thedisclosed aspects.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example system for transmitting a sequence ofbroadcast information bits that includes one or more subsequences.

FIG. 25 illustrates an example system for interpreting a broadcastsignal that includes a multiple of subsequences.

FIG. 26 illustrates an example of partitioning a sequence of broadcastinformation bits into a multiple of subsequences implemented inaccordance with the disclosed aspects.

FIG. 27 illustrates as example of a synchronous subsequence implementsin accordance with the disclosed aspects.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example of an asynchronous subsequence implementsin accordance with various aspects disclosed herein.

FIG. 29 illustrates an example method of transmitting a broadcast signalthat includes a sequence of broadcast information bits.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example method for interpreting timinginformation and related messages within a received broadcast signal.

FIG. 31 is an illustration of an example communication systemimplemented in accordance with various aspects including multiple cells.

FIG. 32 is an illustration of an example base station in accordance withvarious aspects.

FIG. 33 is an illustration of an example wireless terminal (e.g., mobiledevice, end node, . . . ) implemented in accordance with various aspectsdescribed herein.

FIG. 34 illustrates a system that enables independent coding of at leasttwo subsets of information in a beacon signal within a wirelesscommunication environment.

FIG. 35 illustrates a system that facilitates sending two independentinformation streams that represent a waveform.

FIG. 36 illustrates a system that facilitates transmission ofinformation using a set of tones in a set of time symbols within awireless communication environment.

FIG. 37 illustrated is a system that enables independent decoding ofinformation received in a beacon signal within a wireless communicationenvironment.

FIG. 38 illustrated is a system that enables deciphering two independentinformation streams that represent a waveform within a wirelesscommunication environment.

FIG. 39 illustrates a system that enables transmission of informationduring a frequency portion and a time portion within a wirelesscommunication environment.

FIG. 40 illustrates a system that enables transmission of a broadcastsignal that contains a subsequence of broadcast information bits.

FIG. 41 illustrates a system that enables interpretation of a broadcastsignal that contains asynchronous and/or synchronous messages.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various examples are now described with reference to the drawings. Inthe following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of one or more aspects. It may be evident, however, thatsuch aspects(s) may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known structures and devices are shown in blockdiagram form in order to facilitate describing one or more examples.

As used in this application, the terms “component,” “module,” “system,”and the like are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, eitherhardware, firmware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. For example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running on acomputing device and the computing device can be a component. One ormore components can reside within a process and/or thread of executionand a component may be localized on one computer and/or distributedbetween two or more computers. In addition, these components can executefrom various computer readable media having various data structuresstored thereon. The components may communicate by way of local and/orremote processes such as in accordance with a signal having one or moredata packets (e.g., data from one component interacting with anothercomponent in a local system, distributed system, and/or across a networksuch as the Internet with other systems by way of the signal).

Furthermore, various examples are described herein in connection with awireless terminal. A wireless terminal can also be called a system,subscriber unit, subscriber station, mobile station, mobile, mobiledevice, remote station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal,terminal, wireless communication device, user agent, user device, userequipment (UE) or the like. A wireless terminal may be a cellular phone,a cordless telephone, a smart phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a laptop, a handheld communication device, a handheld computingdevice, a computing device, a satellite radio, a global positioningsystem, a processing device connected to a wireless modem and/or othersuitable devices for communication. Moreover, various examples aredescribed herein in connection with a base station. A base station maybe utilized for communicating with wireless terminal(s) and may also bereferred to as an access point, serving station, Node B, or some otherterminology.

Moreover, various aspects or features described herein may beimplemented as a method, apparatus, or article of manufacture usingstandard programming and/or engineering techniques. The term “article ofmanufacture” as used herein is intended to encompass a computer programaccessible from any computer-readable device, carrier, or media. Forexample, computer-readable media can include but are not limited tomagnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk, magnetic strips,etc.), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digital versatile disk(DVD), etc.), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g., EPROM, card,stick, key drive, etc.). Additionally, various storage media describedherein can represent one or more devices and/or other machine-readablemedia for storing information. The term “machine-readable medium” caninclude, without being limited to, wireless channels and various othermedia capable of storing, containing, and/or carrying instruction(s)and/or data.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a wireless communication system 100 isillustrated in accordance with various aspects presented herein. System100 can comprise one or more base stations 102, 104 in one or moresectors 106, 108 that receive, transmit, repeat, etc., wirelesscommunication signals and provide services to each other and/or to oneor more mobile devices 110, 112. Base station 102, 104 can be connectedto an infrastructure network (e.g., the Internet) and, therefore,provide connectivity to the Internet. In accordance with some aspects,base station 102, 104 can facilitate peer-to-peer communication service(e.g., communications directly between mobile devices 110 and 112).

Each base station 102, 104 can comprise a transmitter chain and areceiver chain, each of which can in turn comprise a plurality ofcomponents associated with signal transmission and reception (e.g.,processors, modulators, multiplexers, demodulators, demultiplexers,antennas, . . . ) as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art. Basestations 102, 104 can transmit information to mobile devices 110, 112over forward links (downlinks) and receive information from mobiledevices 110, 112 over reverse links (uplinks).

In order for the mobile devices 110, 112 to access base station 102, 104and use the services offered or to utilize the spectrum for peer-to-peercommunications, base station 102, 104 broadcasts certain systeminformation. In accordance with some aspects, the set of broadcastinformation can be divided into one or more subsets. Base station 102,104 may broadcast some subsets periodically according to predeterminedbroadcasting cycles and different subsets may be associated withdifferent broadcasting cycles. In accordance with some aspects, basestation 102, 104 may broadcast some subsets with a generic messagesignaling approach, therefore, the broadcasting schedule is notpredetermined or fixed (e.g., can be selectively changed).

For example, a first subset of broadcast information might be related toa basic configuration of system 100 to provide mobile devices 110, 112the ability to access system 100. Included in the first subset ofbroadcast information can be one or more of (or combinations of) systemtiming information, spectrum allocation information, transmission powerinformation, service information, communication technology information,system version (compatibility) information, spectrum band information,service operator information, system loading information, and so forth.This list of broadcast information might not vary over time. Furtherinformation relating to the information that might be included in thefirst subset will be provided below.

A second subset of broadcast information might be related to handoff.For example, mobile device 110 might move from a first geographical area106 to another geographical area 108 causing handoff between two basestations 102, 104. In accordance with some aspects, the geographicalareas of two base stations 102, 104 might overlap with each other(illustrated at 114) so that mobile devices 110, 112 experience little,if any, service disruption during handoff.

Base stations 102, 104 might use different sets of system 100parameters. For example, in an OFDM system the spectrum bandwidth isdivided into a number of tones. In each base station, the tones hopaccording to a particular hopping pattern. The hopping pattern can becontrolled by a system parameter and different base stations 102, 104can choose different values of the system parameter in order todiversify the interference between the base stations 102, 104.

The system parameters allow mobile device 110, 112 to migrate from onebase station 102 to another base station 104. It is beneficial to allowmobile device 110, 112 to obtain the system parameters promptly in orderto mitigate service disruption during handoff. Therefore, the secondsubset of broadcast information can be smaller that then the firstsubset of broadcast information. For example, the second subset mightinclude a small number of fixed information bits and can be broadcastrepeatedly with a relatively short broadcasting cycle time. It should benoted that this assumes that when handoff occurs, mobile station 110,112 has already been connected to a base station 102, 104 and,therefore, obtained at least part of the first subset of broadcastinformation.

Turning to FIG. 2, illustrated is a beacon signal 200 in an exampleOrthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) system in accordancewith the various aspects described herein. The first and second (ormore) subsets of broadcast information can be transported using aspecial signal or signaling scheme, referred to as a beacon signal.

The horizontal axis 202 represents time and the vertical axis 204represents frequency. A vertical column, of which a few are labeled at206, represents the tones in a given symbol period. Each small box, suchas box 208, represents a tone-symbol, which is a single tone over asingle transmission symbol period. A degree of freedom in an OFDM symbolis a tone-symbol 208.

Beacon signal 200 includes a sequence of beacon signal bursts, which aretransmitted sequentially over time. A beacon signal burst includes oneor more (e.g., a small number) beacon symbols. Each beacon symbol can bea signal transmitted in one degree of freedom with much highertransmission power than the average per degree of freedom transmissionpower over a relatively large time interval.

Illustrated are four small black boxes, each of which (210), representsa beacon signal symbol. The transmission power of each beacon signalsymbol is much higher (e.g., at least about 10 or 15 dB higher) than theaverage per tone symbol transmission power over the entire time interval212. Each OFDM symbol period 214, 216, 218, 220 is a beacon signalburst. In this illustration, each beacon signal burst includes onebeacon symbol over one transmission symbol period.

FIG. 3 illustrates another beacon signal 300 that can be utilized withone or more of the disclosed examples. Beacon signal 300 is similar tobeacon signal 200 of the above figure. The difference between these twobeacon signals 200, 300 is that beacon signal 300 includes two beaconsymbols of the same single tone over two consecutive symbol periods. Inparticular, a beacon signal burst includes two consecutive OFDM symbolperiods 312, 314, 316, 318.

FIG. 4 illustrates yet another beacon signal 400 that can be utilizedwith one or more of the disclosed examples. This beacon signal 400 issimilar to the above beacons signals 200, 300. The difference is that inthis beacon signal 400, each beacon signal burst includes two OFDMsymbol periods that might or might not be consecutive. However, only onebeacon symbol is transmitted in the two OFDM symbol periods. In a givenbeacon signal burst, the beacon symbol may occur in any one of the twoperiods. For example, illustrated are two beacon bursts 412 and 414. Thebeacon symbol of beacon burst 412 occurs in the first OFDM symbolperiod, while the beacon symbol of beacon burst 414 occurs in the secondOFDM symbol period.

For FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the time positions of the beacon bursts arepredetermined. For example, in FIG. 2 it is predetermined that thebeacon bursts are located in OFDM symbols 214, 216, 218, 220. In FIG. 3,it is predetermined that the beacon bursts are located in OFDM symbolpairs 312, 314, 316, 318. In FIG. 4, it is predetermined that the beaconbursts are located in OFDM symbol pairs 412 and 414.

The degrees of freedom in the predetermined OFDM symbols can be chosento transmit the beacon symbols. For example, in FIG. 2, any one of thetone symbols in OFDM symbol 214 can be chosen to signal the beaconsymbol and in FIG. 4 any one of the tone symbols in OFDM symbol pair 412can be chosen. Therefore, the total number of degrees of freedom of abeacon burst in FIG. 4 is twice as many as that in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example system 500 that facilitates transmittingindependent subsets of information. System 500 can be utilized in awireless communication network to allow mobile devices to communicatewith each other and/or with base stations. System 500 can facilitatecommunication of information in such a manner that changes made to afirst subset of information does not affect a second (or more) subset ofinformation. Thus, there can be two different coding schemes that do notinterfere with each other (e.g., are independently coded/decoded).Included in system are one or more senders 502 that convey informationto one or more receivers 504. Sender 502 and/or receiver 504 can be basestations, mobile devices, or other system components that communicateinformation.

Sender 502 can include a first information stream generator 506 that canbe configured to analyze a broadcast signal and divide the broadcastsignal into subgroups in a predetermined manner, creating a firstinformation stream. Additionally or alternatively first informationstream generator 506 can be configured to determine which of one or moresubgroups to utilize for a particular broadcast signal. For example, thefirst information stream can be utilized to determine which subgroup touse. A broadcast signal is a well defined time sequence or interval thatcan be over one OFDM signal or over multiple OFDM signals. For example,a broadcast signal can comprise one or more symbol periods and can bethought of as a block of degrees of freedom.

First information stream generator 506 can determine which subgroup orblock to use based on the information that will be carried in thesignal, which, for example, might include information related topeer-to-peer communication and/or information related to cellularcommunication. This information can be processed through encoding (e.g.,encoded bit). This encoded bit can have a value of either “0” or “1” andthe transmission location of the bit might be based, in part, on the bitvalue (“0” or “1”).

A representation of a broadcast signal 600 is illustrated in FIG. 6.Broadcast signal 600 is a sub-portion of a beacon symbol, similar to theabove beacon symbols 200, 300, 400. It should be understood thatbroadcast signal 600 is for example purposes and other broadcast symbolscan be utilized with the disclosed aspects. Time is represented alongthe horizontal axis 602 and frequency is represented along the verticalaxis 604. The example beacon symbol 600 comprises two symbol periods606, 608 having four tone-symbols each for a total of eight tone-symbolsor degrees of freedom.

The total degrees of freedom in the two symbol periods 606, 608 of thebroadcast signal 600 are divided (such as by first information streamgenerator 506) into a first bandwidth subset 610 and a second bandwidthsubset 612. For example, tone-symbols 0, 1, 2 and 3 can be in firstbandwidth subset or first block 610 and tone-symbols 4, 5, 6 and 7 canbe in second bandwidth subset or second block 612. It should beunderstood that other configurations and number of blocks oftone-symbols can be utilized and a simple scheme is illustrated. Theselected blocks 610, 612 of tones can be similar to a fixed partition oftone-symbols that does not vary from one beacon signal burst to another.The same partition can be utilized for each block or, in accordance withsome aspects, there can be some time varying among the various blocks.

In a given beacon signal burst, the block or subset of tone-symbols usedconveys information, which can be referred to as information bit orblock coding scheme {b₁}. First information stream generator 506 can beconfigured to determine which block coding scheme {b₁} will be usedduring a particular beacon signal burst.

It should be noted that each bandwidth subset 610, 612 in the example isa contiguous block of tone symbols. Moreover, between two bandwidthsubsets there may be a few tone symbols left unused. A reason for thisis to mitigate the mobile device from mistaking a tone symbol in onebandwidth subset with another tone symbol in another bandwidth subset,due to potential lack of timing and frequency synchronization betweenthe serving station and the mobile device. In another example (notshown) the bandwidth is partitioned such that the degrees of freedom ofindividual bandwidth subsets interleave with each other, in which case abandwidth subset might not be a contiguous block of tone symbols.

It should be understood that first information steam generator 506 candetermine a bandwidth subset partition in other scenarios. For example,if a beacon burst includes two OFDM symbols, as illustrated in FIG. 4,then the total degrees of freedom in the two OFDM symbols can bepartitioned into a multitude of bandwidth subsets. Some bandwidthsubsets may include the degrees of freedom in the first OFDM symbol,while another bandwidth subset may include the degrees of freedom in thesecond OFDM symbol.

System 500 can also include a second information stream generator 508that can be configured to determine which particular tone-symbol (degreeof freedom) to use in a particular broadcast signal, creating a secondinformation stream. In accordance with some aspects, the secondinformation stream can be utilized to determine a waveform to use in theselected subgroup. The degree of freedom chosen can be different foreach symbol-period or for each broadcast signal. In accordance with anaspect, the first and second subsets of broadcast information 610, 612are transported by choosing the degrees of freedom for the beaconsymbols in a sequence of beacon bursts. In particular, the total degreesof freedom of a beacon burst can be partitioned into a predeterminednumber of bandwidth subsets, which can be disjoint or contiguous.

In a given beacon burst, the degree of freedom used to transmit thebroadcast symbol conveys information, which can be referred to asinformation bit or coding scheme {c_(i)}. The particular degree offreedom chosen by second information stream generator 508 is determinedindependently or regardless of which subgroup was selected by firstinformation stream generator 506. For example, second information streamgenerator 508 can choose a particular tone-symbol (or coding scheme{c₁}) within a subgroup and first information stream generator 506 canchoose the actual tone through selection of a particular subgroup (orblock coding scheme {b1}). The selection of block coding scheme {b₁} byfirst information stream generator 506 and coding scheme {c₁} selectedby second information stream generator 508 can occur in any order sincethe selections are independent of each other.

For example, first information stream generator 506 might pick the firstsub-group 610 that comprises tone-symbols 0, 1, 2 and 3 for the firstinformation stream {b₁} and second information stream generator 508might pick tone 2 for the second information stream {c₁}. However, iffirst information stream generator 506 chooses the second sub-group 612containing tone-symbols 4, 5, 6 and 7 and second information streamgenerator 508 chooses the same tone-symbol location, the tone-symbolwould now be tone-symbol 6. This is because tone-symbol 6 is in the samelocation as tone-symbol 2 (but in different sub-groups 610, 612) andsecond information stream generator 508 is not concerned with whichsub-group 610, 612 was chosen by first information stream generator 506.

Second information stream generator 508 can choose the location of thetone-symbol within a sub-group based in part on the coding of scheme{c₁} utilizing various algorithms, methods and/or techniques forchoosing a coding scheme. The actual tone-symbol used is a function ofthe block chosen by first information stream generator 506, theparticular sequence of {c₁} and the hopping sequence. Thus, depending onwhich sub-group 610, 612 is chosen by first information stream generator506 the tone-symbol in this example might be 0 or 4; 1 or 5; 2 or 6; or3 or 7. Since the coding scheme of {b₁} and {c₁} are independent, ifeither coding scheme is changed, there is no affect on the other codingscheme.

A visual representation of an example coding scheme as viewed by thesecond information stream generator 508 is represented in FIG. 7. Codingscheme {c₁} provides a timing scheme and can provide a way for hopping,repeating and so forth. The coding scheme {c₁} might repeat in time (orother interval), which can be a very small interval.

Time is represented along the horizontal axis 702 and frequency isrepresented along the vertical axis 704. The top portion of the figure,at 706, illustrates three different beacon symbols 708, 710 and 712. Thetop half of each beacon symbol 708, 710, 712 is a first sub-group andthe bottom half is the second subgroup, represented as 714 and 716,respectively, similar to the beacon symbol 600 illustrated in the abovefigure. As illustrated, first information stream generator 506 canchoose for the first information stream {b₁} the second sub-group forbeacon signal 708, the first sub-group for beacon signal 710 and thesecond sub-group for beacon signal 712. Second information streamgenerator 508 can choose a location for second information stream {c₁},illustrated by the black boxes. A high energy signal is sent in thechosen location, regardless of the sub-group chosen by first informationstream generator 506. In the example, the period is only three andsecond information stream {c₁} can repeat. First information stream {b₁}might have a completely different periodicity. In other words, theactual block in which second information stream {c₁} is located is afunction of first information stream {b₁}, however, from the perspectiveof second information stream {c₁}, the coding does not change (sincesecond information stream {c₁} is not concerned with the block in whichthe high energy signal is sent). The periodicity provides timinginformation that can be used to decode the information bits. Afterobservance of a few sequences, the starting point and ending point canbe determined, which can provide a certain assurance of timing withinthat block. Further information relating to timing information will beprovided below.

The broadcast signal from the perspective of second information streamgenerator 508 is illustrated at the bottom portion 718 of the figure.This portion 718 illustrates the combination of the two informationschemes {b₁}, {c₁}, however, this is not to suggest that the twoinformation schemes are combined; these streams are still independentschemes and the combination is shown for explanatory purposes only.

Thus, second information stream generator 508 is not concerned, and doesnot need to be aware, of the particular subgroup chosen by firstinformation stream generator 506. This is because second informationstream generator 508 is concerned only with the tone-symbol location,not the group in which the tone-symbol might be located.

In accordance with some aspects, information schemes {b₁} and {c₁} canbe thought of in different terms. Coding is a mapping of informationbits to a signaling position. These information schemes {b₁} and {c₁}can be thought of as information bits. Over time, there can be amultitude of {c₁} information bits sent. There can also be a coding “I”,which can determine a sequence of {Y_(i)} from {c₁}, which is a sequenceof bits where {Y_(i)} is one bit. The representation of this isillustrated in FIG. 8, at 802.

To continue the above example, at 804 illustrated is a broadcast signalthat has three symbol periods 806, 808, 810 of four degrees of freedomeach. If the number (e.g., 0, 1, 3, . . . , 11) of the degree of freedomis provided, it indicates where the signaling is to occur. Thus, {Y_(i)}can be a sequence of Y₀, Y₁, Y₂, Y₃, . . . Y₁₁, which can repeat basedon the periodicity. Thus, any particular {Y_(i)} can equal from 0 to 11,in this example.

The separate sequence of information bits {b₁} has a different type ofcoding (e.g., coding “II”) that creates a signal {X_(i)}. Thus, codingII={X_(i)}. By itself {X_(i)} has some periodicity that might not haveanything to do with {Y_(i)}. Each {X_(i)} can equal zero up to thenumber of sub-groups selected by first information stream generator 508.In this example, {X_(i)} can be equal to “0” or “1”, wherein “0”represents a first sub-group and “1” represents a second sub-group.

Information bits {X_(i)} and {Y_(i)} can be combined by informationstream combiner 510, as illustrated in FIG. 9 to produce a value Z,utilizing the following equation, where Q is represents a maximum valueof the first information stream:Z _(i) ={X _(i) }*Q+{ Y _(i)}  Equation 1.

The value Z_(i) can be thought of as a broadcast signal 1000 occupying alarger space, as the example illustrated in FIG. 10. In this example,the degrees of freedom are labeled 0, 1, 2, 3, . . . , 23. The broadcastsignal 1000 can be divided into two or more blocks or subgroups 1002 and1004 (such as by first information stream generator 506), eachcontaining 12 tones (which is the value of Q for this example).

In the illustrated example {X_(i)} is equal to “0” for subgroup 1002 and{X_(i)} is equal to 1 for subgroup 1004. Utilizing Equation 1, if{X_(i)} is equal to “0”, then Z_(i) is equal to {Y_(i)}, which is the upspace or first subgroup 1002. If, however, {X_(i)} is equal to “1”, thenthe starting point is degree of freedom “12” in the lower space orsecond subgroup 1104. Thus, {X_(i)} indicates which block or subgroupwas chosen and {Y_(i)} indicates the location within the block, whichallows for independent coding even though the separate coding schemesmight be combined to transmit the information. It should be noted thatpartitioning can be performed differently than that shown and described.

Referring back to FIG. 5, a memory 512 can be operatively coupled tosender 502 to encode information in a beacon signal. Memory 512 canstore information and/or retain instructions relating to generating afirst subset of broadcast information bits and a second subset ofbroadcast information bits, such as in a predetermined manner. Memory512 can further store information relating to partitioning a set ofbandwidth degrees of freedom into two or more subsets. Furtherinformation stored by memory 512 can relate to deciding which subset touse, which can be a function of the first subset of broadcastinformation bits. Additionally, memory 512 can store informationrelating to choosing one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom in thesubset, which can be a function of the second subset of broadcastinformation bits.

Memory 512 can further retain instructions for transmitting or sendingthe chosen one or more bandwidth. The first and the at least secondsubset of information can be sent at a high energy as compared to otherinformation, which can be transmitted at a lower energy. The first andsecond subsets can be disjoint subsets of the set of broadcastinformation bits. The subject might be disjoint from each other. Inaccordance with some aspects, the information sent can be related topeer-to-peer communication. Other information that can be stored bymemory 512 can be a periodicity, or how often to repeat a sequence of afirst stream {b₁} and/or a second stream {c₁} of information bits.

In accordance with some aspects, memory 512 can retain instructions fortransmitting the beacon signal at a power in each selected bandwidthdegree of freedom that is X dB higher than an average transmission powerused to transmit other beacon signals. X can be at least 10 dB. Memory512 can further retain instructions for partitioning the two or moresubsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom in a predetermined manner andindependently of the set of broadcast information bits.

Alternatively o additionally, memory 512 can retain instructionsrelating to determining a first value for a first information stream anddetermining a second value for a second information stream. Thedeterminations can be performed independently. The second value canprovide a timing sequence that might repeat at a different interval thana timing sequence of the first value. Further instructions can relate tocombining the first and second value to produce a composite value andtransmitting a waveform as a function of the composite value. Thewaveform can include a high energy beacon signal wherein a transmissionpower of the beacon signal per degree of freedom about 10 dB (or more)higher than a transmission power of other sent signals.

Alternatively or additionally, memory 512 can store information and/orretain instructions relating to determining a first coding scheme {b₁};determining a second coding scheme {c₁}, which can be performedindependently. The second coding scheme {c₁} can provide a timingsequence that might repeat at a different interval than a timingsequence of first coding scheme {b_(i)}. Memory 512 can further retaininstructions relating to combining the first coding scheme {b_(i)} andthe second coding scheme {c_(i)} for transmission to a mobile device ina single beacon signal burst. The single beacon signal burst can betransmitted at a high energy as compared to other signal burst. Memory512 can retain instructions for creating a signal {X_(i)} from the firstcoding scheme {b_(i)} and creating a sequence of {Y_(i)} bits from thesecond coding scheme {c₁}. In accordance with some aspects, memory 512can retain instructions for creating a value Z_(i) from the combinationof the first coding scheme {b_(i)} and the second coding scheme {c_(i)},wherein Z_(i) represents a broadcast signal occupying a space.

In accordance with some aspects, memory 512 can store information and/orretain instructions relating to selectively using a portion of frequencytones in a portion of time symbols in which to transmit information. Forexample, memory 512 can retain instruction relating related toseparating a block that represents frequency tone and time symbol intotwo or more subgroups. The two or more subsets can represent a firstinformation stream. Memory 512 can also retain instructions relating todividing the subgroups into at least one frequency tone in one timesymbol that represents a micro block or second information stream. Achange to the first information stream does not change the secondinformation stream and vice versa. In addition, a mapping based on thefirst information stream and the second information are mutuallyexclusive on the frequency and the time. Further, memory 512 can retaininstructions relating to selecting one of the two or more subgroups as afunction of a first information stream and selecting the micro block inwhich to transmit a signal as a function of a second information stream.Memory 512 can further retains instructions for combining the firstinformation stream and the second information stream before transmittinga high-energy signal that includes both streams.

A processor 514 can be operatively connected to sender 502 (and/ormemory 512) to facilitate analysis of information related to updatingand verifying broadcast information and/or can be configured to executethe instructions retained in memory 512. Processor 514 can be aprocessor dedicated to analyzing information to be communicated fromsender 502 and/or generating information that can be utilized by firstinformation scheme generator 506, second information stream generator508 and/or information scheme combiner 510. Additionally oralternatively, processor 514 can be a processor that controls one ormore components of system 500, and/or a processor that analyzesinformation, generates information and/or controls one or morecomponents of system 500.

With reference now to FIG. 11 illustrated is a system 1100 thatfacilitates interpreting subsets of information included in a broadcastsignal. System 1100 can be configured to receive information streams ina combined format and decipher the combination at substantially the sametime at it is received by an intended recipient. Included in system canbe a sender 1102 that transmits the information and a receiver 1104 thatcan be the intended recipient. It should be understood that system 1100can include more senders 1102 and receivers 1104, however only one ofeach is illustrated and described for purposes of simplicity.

Sender 1102 can be configured to transmit information that includes atleast two streams of information that are independent of each other(e.g., such as combination Z_(i)). For example, a first stream ofinformation can relate to a basic configuration of system 1100 and asecond set of information can relate to handoff. Further informationrelating to basic configuration information will be provided below.

Receiver 1104 can include an information stream obtainer 1106 that canbe configured to receive information that contains one or moreinformation streams or bits of information (e.g., Z_(i)). For example,the information stream can contain a first stream of information, suchas {b₁}, which can be represented as {X_(i)} and a second stream ofinformation, such as {c₁}, which can be represented as {Y_(i)}. Atsubstantially the same time as the broadcast information is obtained, afirst information stream analyzer 1108 and a second information streaminterpreter 1110 can evaluate the broadcast information and break itinto its subcomponents (e.g., first information stream, secondinformation stream, {X_(i)}, {Y_(i)} and so forth). An examplerepresentation of decoding a broadcast signal is provided in FIG. 12.

In further detail, first information stream analyzer 1108 can beconfigured to derive the stream relating to {b₁}, which can be presentedas {X_(i)}. In order to extract {X_(i)} from the information stream,independent coding can include analyzing the stream with the followingequation, where L is the number of degrees of freedom:{circumflex over (X)} _(i)=floor(Z _(i) /L)  Equation 2

Second information stream interpreter 1110 can be configured to extractinformation bits {c_(i)}, represented as {Y_(i)}, from the streaminformation. Such extraction can utilize the following equation.Ŷ _(i)=mod(Z _(i) ,L)  Equation 3

Thus, receiver 1104 can be configured to accept Z_(i), break Z, into itssubcomponents {X_(i)} and {Y_(i)}. Additionally, receiver 1104 can beconfigured to analyze {X_(i)} to decode {b_(i)} and analyze {Y_(i)} todecode {c_(i)}. Thus, if the encoding for only one part (e.g., {b_(i)})is changed, it does not have an affect of the encoding for the secondpart (e.g., {c_(i)}). Likewise, if the decoding is changed for one(e.g., {b_(i)}), it does not have an impact on the other one (e.g.,{c_(i)}).

Information included in a subset of the broadcast information might berelated to a basic configuration of the system 1100 to provide receiver1104 the ability to access system 1100. Included in the subset can beone or more of (or combinations of) system timing information, spectrumallocation information, transmission power information, serviceinformation, communication technology information, system version(compatibility) information, spectrum band information, service operatorinformation, system loading information, and so forth.

The system timing information communicates the current time to thereceiver 1104 (which can be a mobile device). This time information canbe measured using a time unit that is specific to the underlyingwireless communication system. For example, the time unit can be afunction of the transmission symbol period of system 1100. The timeinformation can also be given using a commonly used time unit (e.g.,second, millisecond, and so forth). In this case, the time can be givenby the usual year-month-day-hour-minute-second formation, which is notspecific to the underlying wireless communication system 1100.

The spectrum allocation information can indicate whether the allocationis a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) system, a Time Division Duplex(TTD) system or another type of allocation. In addition, the spectrumallocation information can include the frequency of the designatedcarriers and/or the frequency distance between the designated downlinkand uplink carriers in a FDD system.

The transmission power information can include the current transmissionpower and/or the maximum transmission power capability of the sender1102 (which can be a base station). The service information can includethe type of service provided in the current spectrum band (e.g.,traditional cellular service, peer-to-peer ad hoc network service,cognitive radio service, and so forth). The communication technologyinformation can include information relating to the air interfacetechnology used in the current spectrum band (e.g., Code DivisionMultiple Access (CDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access(OFDMA), Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), and others.)

The system version (compatibility) information can include a vendor'sidentifier, a software release version number and/or other informationrelating to the software version. The version information can be used todetermine the compatibility between sender 1102 and receiver 1104.

Information relating to the spectrum band can identify other spectrumbands that might provide services in the geographical area. Theinformation about the service operator (and sender 1102) can include aname of the service operator, a geographical location of sender 1102, aswell as other information.

Additionally or alternatively, the first subset might also include othertime-varying information, such as loading information of the currentspectrum band and/or other spectrum bands. The loading information mightinclude the loading of the traffic channels, which can be measured bythe utilization of the bandwidth and/or power of the traffic channels.Also included can be the loading of MAC states, which might be measuredby the number of active mobile devices currently in system 1100. Loadinginformation can also relate to the loading of the access channels, whichmay be represented as a priority threshold so that only the receiver1104 whose priority exceeds the threshold can access the sender 1102.The loading information might vary over time for a given sender 1102.

In accordance with some aspects, the first subset of broadcastinformation might include system information relating to neighboringservice base stations. For example, sender 1102 might advertise theavailable service provided by an adjacent base station so that receiver1104 can tune to the adjacent base station that can provide a moreappealing service for that receiver 1104. Additionally or alternatively,sender 1102 might broadcast the loading information of an adjacent basestation.

A memory 1112 can be operatively coupled to receiver 1102 and can storeinformation and/or retain instructions relating to decipheringinformation received in a communication and/or breaking the receivedcommunication into subcomponents of information. Memory 1112 can storeinformation relating to the information included in each subcomponent.

In accordance with some aspects, memory 1112 can retain instructionsrelating to selectively decoding information received in a beaconsignal. The instructions can include receiving a beacon signal, whichcan be identified as a beacon signal sent at a high energy as comparedto other received beacon signals. The beacon signal can include one ormore bandwidth degrees of freedom. The instructions can further includedetermining which bandwidth degree of freedom was received from a subsetof degrees of freedom and deciding which subset from at least twosubsets was received. Memory 1112 can further retain instructionsrelating to reconstructing a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom fromthe two or more subsets of information included in the beacon signal,wherein the subsets might be disjoint. The information in the firstsubset can relate to peer-to-peer communication or it can relate toother information. The memory 1112 can further retain instructionsrelating to identifying the beacon signal as being received having apower in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higherthan an average transmission power used to transmit other signals. X isat least 10 dB.

Additionally, memory 1112 can retain instructions relating toselectively determining portion of frequency and a portion of time inwhich an information signal was received. The instructions can includereceiving a signal that includes a set of frequency tones in a set oftime symbols, ascertaining a micro block in which the signal wasreceived and determining a subgroup that contains the micro block andidentifying a block that includes at least two subgroups. The subgroupmight have been selected as a function of a first information stream andthe micro block might have been selected as a function of a secondinformation stream. A mapping based on the first information stream andthe second information are mutually exclusive on the frequency and thetime. That is to say, a change to the first information stream does notchange the second information stream and vice versa. The instructionscan further relate to analyzing the first information stream utilizingthe equation {circumflex over (X)}_(i)=floor (Z_(i)/L). Also, theinstructions can relate to analyzing the second information streamutilizing the equation Ŷ=mod(Z_(i),L).

Additionally or alternatively, memory 1112 can retain instructionsrelating to receiving a waveform that includes a high-energy beaconsignal. The waveform can be a function of a composite value thatrepresents a first value and a second value. Memory 1112 can furtherretain information related to independently decode the first value toobtain a first subset of information and independently decoding thesecond value to obtain a second subset of information. The second valuecan provide a timing sequence that might repeat at a different intervalthan a timing sequence of the first value. Receiving the waveform caninclude identifying the beacon signal burst as being received at a highenergy as compared to other received beacon signal bursts.

In accordance with some aspects, system 1110 can selectively decodeinformation received in a beacon signal. Memory 1112 can retaininstructions relating to receiving a single beacon signal burst thatincludes a first coding scheme {b_(i)} and a second coding scheme{c_(i)}. The single beacon signal burst might be identified since it canbe received at a high energy as compared to other received beacon signalbursts. The single beacon signal burst can include a value Z, that is acombination of the first coding scheme {b_(i)} and the second codingscheme {c_(i)}, wherein Z, represents a broadcast signal occupying aspace. The first coding scheme {b_(i)} can be decoded to obtain a firstsubset of information and the second coding scheme {c_(i)} can bedecoded to obtain a second subset of information. The decoding of thefirst coding scheme {b_(i)} and decoding the second coding scheme{c_(i)} can be performed independently. The second coding scheme {c₁}can have a timing sequence that might repeat at a different intervalthan a timing sequence of first coding scheme {b_(i)}. Memory 1112 canfurther retain instructions relating to interpreting a signal {X_(i)}from the first coding scheme {b_(i)} and interpreting a sequence of{Y_(i)} bits from the second coding scheme {c₁}.

A processor 1114 can be operatively connected to receiver 1104 (and/ormemory 1112) to facilitate analysis of received information and/or canbe configured to execute the instructions retained in memory 1112.Processor 1114 can be a processor dedicated to analyzing informationreceived from sender 1102 and/or generating information that can beutilized by information stream obtainer 1106, first information streamanalyzer 1108 and/or second information scheme interpreter 1110.Additionally or alternatively, processor 1114 can be a processor thatcontrols one or more components of system 1100, and/or a processor thatanalyzes information, generates information and/or controls one or morecomponents of system 1100.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example beacon signal when a second subset ofbroadcast information is repeatedly broadcast with a relatively shortbroadcasting cycle time. The horizontal line 1302 represents time andthe vertical line 1304 represents frequency. In this example, in abeacon burst, the degrees of freedom are divided into two bandwidthsubsets: subset 1306 with index (e.g., {X_(i)}) “0” and subset 1308 withindex (e.g., {X_(i)})“1”. Each bandwidth subset 1306, 1308 in thisexample contains eight tone symbols and the relative indices (e.g.,{Y_(i)}) are 0, 1, . . . 7, from the top to the bottom.

The second sequence of information bits corresponding to the secondsubset 1308 includes a fixed and finite set of bits, which arerepeatedly sent in three consecutive beacon bursts. For example, thesecond sequence of information bits determines three relative indices(e.g., {Y_(i)}) r1, r2 and r3. In beacon burst 1310, r1 is used todetermine the relative index of the beacon symbol (relative index=3 inthe example), illustrated at 1312. In beacon burst 1314, r2 is used todetermine the relative index of the beacon symbol (relative index=5 inthe example), illustrated at 1316. In beacon burst 1318, r3 is used todetermine the relative index of the beacon symbol (relative index=6 inthe example), illustrated at 1320. The pattern repeats over time: inbeacon burst 1322, r1 is used to determine the relative index of thebeacon symbol (relative index=3 in the example), illustrated at 1324. Inbeacon burst 1326, r2 is used to determine the relative index of thebeacon symbol (relative index=5 in the example), illustrated at 1328. Inbeacon burst 1330, r3 is used to determine the relative index of thebeacon symbol relative index=6 in the example) illustrated at 1332, andso forth.

Meanwhile, the first sequence of information bits corresponding to thefirst subset includes many more bits. In particular, the first sequenceof information bits determines a sequence of bandwidth subset index(e.g., {X_(i)}) m1, m2, m3, m4, m5, m6 and so forth. In beacon burst1310, m1 is used to determine the index of the bandwidth subset (subsetindex=0 in the example. In beacon burst 1314, m2 is used to determinethe index of the bandwidth subset (subset index=0 in the example). Inbeacon burst 1318, m3 is used to determine the index of the bandwidthsubset (subset index=1 in the example). In beacon burst 1322, m4 is usedto determine the index of the bandwidth subset (subset index=1 in theexample). In beacon burst 1326, m5 is used to determine the index of thebandwidth subset (subset index=0 in the example). In beacon burst 1330,m6 is used to determine the index of the bandwidth subset (subsetindex=0 in the example). Note that while the relative indices r1, r2, r3repeat in a short broadcasting cycle, the subset indices m1, m2, . . .may repeat in a much longer broadcasting cycle or may not completelyrepeat at all.

In one example of a system using approximately 1.25 MHz bandwidth, thetotal bandwidth is divided into 113 tones. A beacon burst includes oneor two OFDM symbol periods. In a beacon burst, the tones are dividedinto two or three bandwidth subsets, each of which includes 37 tonesymbols in a given OFDM symbol period (e.g., M=2 or 3, and K=37). Therelative indices repeat every 18 consecutive beacon bursts.

Alternatively, not illustrated, it is possible that the first subset ofbroadcast information is conveyed with the relative indices while thesecond subset of broadcast information is conveyed with the bandwidthsubset indices.

With reference now to FIG. 14, illustrated is an example method 1400 oftransmitting a set of broadcast information bits in a broadcast signalimplemented in accordance with the disclosed aspects. While, forpurposes of simplicity of explanation, the methods in this detaileddescription are shown and described as a series of acts, it is to beunderstood and appreciated that the methods are not limited by the orderof acts, as some acts may, in accordance with one or more aspects, occurin different orders and/or concurrently with other acts from that shownand described herein. For example, those skilled in the art willunderstand and appreciate that a method could alternatively berepresented as a series of interrelated states or events, such as in astate diagram. Moreover, not all illustrated acts may be required toimplement a methodology in accordance with one or more aspects.

In a given beacon burst, the beacon symbol uses a degree of freedom outof all the available degrees of freedom to convey the first and thesecond subset of broadcast information. The chosen degree of freedombelongs to one of the bandwidth subsets. In a given beacon burst, thefirst subset of broadcast information is encoded to choose whichbandwidth subset (e.g., block) the beacon signal shall use, while thesecond subset of broadcast information is encoded to determine whichdegree of freedom the beacon signal shall use within the chosenbandwidth subset.

The first subset of broadcast information may be represented by a firstsequence of information bits and the second subset of broadcastinformation may be represented by a second sequence of information bits.The first subset can be related to a basic configuration, which mayinclude spectrum configuration information for peer-to-peercommunications devices to determine how to use a particular band ofspectrum. The band of spectrum may be the same as or different from theband in which the broadcast information is sent. The spectrumconfiguration information may instruct peer-to-peer communicationsdevices whether the particular band of spectrum can be used forpeer-to-peer communications or not, and if so, the power budget forpeer-to-peer communications transmissions. The second subset can berelated to handoff, for example. In accordance with some aspects, thesecond subset does not include information related to peer-to-peercommunications. It should be understood that the sequences ofinformation bits might include broadcast information as well as certainredundancy bits (e.g., parity check bits) for coding protection. In agiven beacon burst, a portion of the first sequence of information bitsand a portion of the second sequence of information bits may be sent.

Method 1400 can facilitate transmission of a set of broadcastinformation bits using a predetermined set of bandwidth degrees offreedom and starts, at 1402, with generation of a first subset ofbroadcast information bits and a second subset of broadcast informationbits. The two subsets of broadcast information bits can be generatedfrom a multitude of broadcast information bits and can be generated in apredetermined manner. At 1404, a predetermined set of bandwidth degreesof freedom are partitioned into two or more subsets. Each subset caninclude a multitude of bandwidth degrees of freedom.

At 1406, a subset from the at least two or more subsets of bandwidthdegrees of freedom is chosen of broadcast information bits as a functionof the first subset of broadcast information bits. The subgroups can becontiguous or remote from each other. In accordance with some aspects,the first and second subsets of broadcast information bits are disjointsubsets of the set of broadcast information bits. The subgroups can bepartitioned into a multiple number of subsets or degrees of freedom.Each bandwidth degree of freedom in a tone can be an OFDM symbol.

At 1408, at least one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosensubset is selected as a function of the second subset of broadcastinformation bits. The beacon signal is transmitted, at 1408, during theselected subset bandwidth degree of freedom. In accordance with someaspects, the beacon signal can be transmitted at substantially the sametime as other signals. For example, the beacon signal may be superposedto other signals. The beacon symbol can be transmitted at a high energyas compared to other beacon symbols. The beacon signal can comprises asequence of blocks that occur in time.

In accordance with some aspects, at least one subset of the two or moresubsets of broadcast information bits includes control information to bereceived by a wireless device for peer-to-peer communication in which awireless device communicates directly with another wireless device. Thecontrol information can include one or more of a frequency band locationinformation, whether peer-to-peer communication is allowed in thefrequency band, a control parameter that controls a maximum transmissionpower to be used by the wireless device for peer-to-peer communications,or combinations thereof.

Determining which one of two or more bandwidth subsets to use, at 1402,and determining which degree of freedom within the chosen bandwidthsubsets to transmit the beacon symbol, at 1404, can be performedindependently. For example purposes and not limitation, the availabletone symbols in a given beacon burst are numbered with an absolute indexa=0, 1, . . . , N−1, where N is an integer that represents the totalnumber of available tone symbols. In each bandwidth subset, the tonesymbols are numbered with a relative index r=0, 1, . . . , K, where K isan integer that represents the number of tone symbols in each bandwidthsubset. In this example, the number of tone symbols in each bandwidthsubset is the same. Furthermore, the absolute index of the first tonesymbol of each bandwidth subset (e.g., the tone symbol whose relativeindex is equal to 0) is given by s=s₀, s₁, . . . , s_(M-1), where M isan integer that represents the number of bandwidth subsets. Therefore,for a given tone symbol, the absolute index (a) is related to the indexof the bandwidth subset to which the tone symbol belongs (m) and therelative index (r) as follows:a=s _(m) +r  Equation 4.

At 1402, the index of the bandwidth subset (m) can be determined by thesequence of information of the first subset of broadcast information. At1404, the relative index (r) can be determined by the sequence ofinformation of the second subset of broadcast information. It should benoted that the determination of m, at 1402, and the determination of r,at 1404, can be performed independently. From m and r, at 1408, theabsolute index (a) is calculated for the beacon symbol. From one beaconburst to another, the beacon symbols might use different bandwidthsubsets since different portions of the sequence of information are usedto determine m.

Encoding and decoding of the first and second subsets of broadcastinformation can be performed independently in accordance with thedisclosed aspects. For example, when the encoding scheme of the firstsubset of broadcast information is changed, there is no impact on theencoding and decoding of the second subset of broadcast information, andvice versa. Additionally, since m varies over time, the beacon symboloriginates from different bandwidth subsets, thereby increasingdiversity.

FIG. 15 illustrates an example method 1500 of decoding two subsets ofbroadcast information from a beacon symbol in accordance with variousaspects. The beacon symbol can comprise a sequence of blocks that occurin time. Method 1500 starts, at 1502, with receipt of a signal in a timeperiod of a beacon burst. The signal can be received at a high energy ascompared to other received signals. In addition, the signal can bereceived at substantially the same time as other signals. The degree offreedom in which the beacon symbol was transmitted can be determined atsubstantially the same time as receipt of the signal. To determine thedegree of freedom, the fact that the per degree of freedom transmissionpower of the beacon symbol is much higher than average is utilized.

At 1504, it is determined which one of the predetermined multiplebandwidth subsets to which the beacon symbol belongs (e.g., in which itwas received). The degree of freedom within the chosen bandwidth subsetin which the beacon symbol is received is determined, at 1506. Theresults of 1504 and 1506 can be used to reconstruct the first and secondsubsets of broadcast information, respectively. The first subset can berelated to a basic configuration and the second subset can be related tohandoff.

It should be understood that determining which one of the predeterminedmultiple bandwidth subsets to which the beacon symbol belongs, at 1504,and determining the degree of freedom within the chosen bandwidth subsetin which the beacon symbol is transmitted, at 1506, can be performedindependently. Continuing the example of FIG. 14, the absolute index (a)of the received beacon symbol is detected. Since the bandwidth subsetsare disjoint in this example, the indices m and r can be uniquelyderived from a. Once the bandwidth subsets are predetermined, thedetermination of m depends on which bandwidth subset the absolute index(a) falls into, and, therefore, is independent of the determination ofr.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example method 1600 of operating a base station.Method 1600 starts, at 1602, where a first value is assigned to a firstinformation stream. The first information stream can represent a firstsubset of broadcast information. Assigning the first value to the firstinformation stream can comprise coding each of a multitude ofinformation bits {c_(i)} and determining a sequence of bits {Y_(i)} from{c_(i)}, wherein {Y_(i)} represents a single bit. The sequence of{Y_(i)} bits can be based on a periodicity.

At 1604, a second value is assigned to a second information stream. Thesecond information stream can represent a second subset of broadcastinformation. Assigning the value of the second information stream cancomprise coding an information bit {b₁} and creating a signal {X_(i)}from {b_(i)}. The signal {X_(i)} can have a periodicity that isindependent of the periodicity of the sequence of {Y_(i)} bits.

The first information stream and the second information can be combined,at 1606. This combination allows both information streams to be sent atsubstantially the same time, if desired. However, the values for eachstream are different and derived independently. Combining the first andsecond information streams can be calculated with equation(Z_(i)={X_(i)}*Q+{Y_(i)}). In this equation, {Y_(i)} represents thefirst value assigned to the first information stream, {X_(i)} representsthe second value assigned to the second information stream, and Qrepresents a maximum value of the first information stream. The combinedinformation streams can create a broadcast signal that occupies a spacethat is larger than a space of the first information stream and a spaceof the second information stream.

The combined values or composite value produces a composite value, at1608. A waveform is transmitted as a function of the composite value, at1610. The waveform can include a high-energy beacon symbol. Thetransmission power of the beacon symbol per degree of freedom can be atleast 10 dB higher than transmission powers at which other signals aresent. The waveform can occupy a small degree of freedom. An intendedrecipient can receive the waveform and separate the composite value intoits subcomponents (e.g., the first information stream and the secondinformation stream). FIG. 17 illustrates an example method 1700 thatfacilitates interpretation of a waveform received in a communication.The waveform representation can be received from a sender that utilizedthe method 1600 discussed with reference to the above figure.

Method 1700 starts, at 1702, when a high-energy beacon signal includedin a waveform is received. The received signal can include a combinationof a first value and a second value. The combination of the first valueand the second value comprises a broadcast signal that occupies a spacethat is larger than a space of the first information stream and a spaceof the second information stream. The signal can be received at a highenergy and/or can occupy a small degree of freedom. Additionally oralternatively, the signal can be received at substantially the same timeas other signals

At substantially the same time as receiving the waveform it is parsedinto at least two subcomponents or values. At 1704, a first value of afirst information stream is identified and, at 1706, a second value of asecond information stream is determined. The first information streamcan represent a first subset of broadcast information and the secondinformation stream can represent a second subset of broadcastinformation. The identification and determination of the streams can beperformed independently and in any order. Thus, if an encoding and/or adecoding of a stream is changed it does not affect the encoding and/ordecoding of the other stream.

Interpreting the first value as a first information stream can includedetermining a sequence of bits {Y_(i)} included in {c_(i)}, where{Y_(i)} represents a single bit and decoding each of a multitude ofinformation bits {c_(i)}. Interpreting the second value as a secondinformation stream can include receiving a signal that is a function ofX, included in {b₁} and decoding the information bit {b₁}.

In accordance with some aspects, interpreting the first value comprisesdecoding a sequence of {Y_(i)} bits and interpreting the second valuecomprises decoding a signal {X_(i)}. The signal {X_(i)} has aperiodicity that is independent of a periodicity of the sequence of{Y_(i)} bits.

FIG. 18 illustrates an example method 1800 that uses a set of frequencytones in a set of time symbols for transmitting information. Differentsubsets of information might be desired to be sent during a singletransmission. The different subsets of information can be intended forthe same or different recipients, depending on the applicability of theinformation to the recipient (e.g., system parameter information,handoff information, and so forth). Method 1800 allows one or moresubcomponents of the transmitted information to be modified withoutaffecting the other subcomponents of the information.

At 1802, at least some frequency tones and some time symbols aredesignated as a block. The block can comprise a set of frequency tonesin a set of time symbols. This block can represent a period of timeduring which information is transmitted and can be repeated over time.The block can be partitioned into two or more subgroups, at 1804. Eachsubgroup can include a subset of frequency tones in a subset of timesymbols. The subgroups can represent a first information stream (e.g.,{b₁}). The subgroups can be next to each other or disjoint from eachother. At 1806, the two or more subgroups are divided into micro blocks.Each micro block can include at least one frequency tone in one timesymbol. Each micro block can represent a second stream of information(e.g., {c₁}). The micro blocks do not have to be equally spaced. Amapping can be based on the first and the second information streams andcan be mutually exclusive on the frequency and the time. That is to say,changing an information stream does not affect the other informationstream. Thus, changing the frequency or a first subcomponent (e.g.,subgroup) does not result in a timing (e.g., micro block) or a secondsubcomponent change.

One of the micro blocks (e.g., degree of freedom) within one of the twoor more subgroups is selected for information transmittal, at 1808. Theselection of the subgroup and the selection of the micro block representinformation included in the transmitted information. The subgroups canbe selected as a function of a first information stream and the microblocks can be selected as a function of a second information stream. Inthe selected micro block, the information is transmitted at high energyas compared to the non-selected micro blocks.

FIG. 19 illustrates an example method 1900 for interpretation of areceived signal that signifies a set of frequency tones in a set of timesymbols. At 1902, broadcast information is received. This broadcastinformation can be received in a micro block chosen from a block, themicro block can comprise one or more frequency tones in one time symbol.The broadcast information can include two or more subsets of informationthat were combined in order to send a single signal (e.g., micro block).The location of the information within the signal represents informationthat should be decoded by the receiver of the information in order tofully appreciate the received signal. Decoding the information involvesdetermining, at 1904, a subgroup from at least two subgroups in whichthe micro block belongs and identifying, at 1906, a block that containsthe subgroup. The block can include a set of frequency tones in a set oftime symbols. The subgroup can represent or be selected as a function ofa first information stream and the micro block can represent or beselected as function of a second information stream. A mapping based onthe first and the second information streams are mutually exclusive onthe frequency and the time. The determination of the subgroup and themicro block conveys information that is included in the transmittedinformation. Decoding the first information stream can be performedwithout affecting a decoding of the second information stream.

In accordance with some aspects, in a given beacon bust, which degree offreedom is used to transmit the beacon symbol conveys information. Eachbeacon burst in effects sends an information symbol whose value is equalto one element in a predetermined alphabet table. Suppose the K degreesof freedom are available for the beacon signal in a beacon burst andthat the degrees of freedom are indexed as 0, 1, . . . , K−1. In anexample, the alphabet table is given as 0, 1, . . . , K−1: the value ofthe information symbol is equal to the index of the degree of freedomused by the beacon symbol. In this case, the size of the alphabet tableis equal to K. In another example, the size of the alphabet table may besmaller than the number of degrees of freedom in a beacon burst. Forexample, the alphabet table is given as 0 and 1: the information symbolcan be equal to 0 if the index of the degree of freedom used by thebeacon symbol is less than floor (K/2). In another example, the alphabettable is given as 0 and 1: the information symbol can be equal to 0 ifthe index of the degree of freedom used by the beacon symbol is an evennumber, and equal to 1 otherwise.

Denote N the size of the alphabet table. In an example, the informationsymbol in a single beacon burst may be used to send a fixed integernumber of broadcast information bits. For example, if N=2, then aninformation symbol can be used to send 1 bit. In another example, apredetermined number of information symbols, which can be consecutive,may be used to send a fixed integer number of broadcast informationbits. For example, if N=3, then two information symbols can togethersignal 9 distinct values. Eight of those values can be used to sendthree bits, keeping the last value reserved. Therefore, the sequence ofbeacon bursts can convey a sequence of broadcast information bits.

In accordance with some examples, the beacon bursts are periodicallynumbered. For example, referring back to FIG. 2, beacon burst 214 isnumbered as 0. Beacon burst 216 is numbered as 1 and beacon burst 218 isnumbered as 2. Then, the numbers repeat: beacon burst 220 is numbered as0, and so forth. This numbering structure may be signaled by the beaconsymbols carried in the sequence of beacon bursts.

For example, consider FIG. 2 in which the alphabet table is given as 0and 1: the information symbol can be equal to 0 if the index of thedegree of freedom used by the beacon symbol is less than floor(K/2), andequal to 1 otherwise, where K is the number of the degrees of freedom.In effect, the signaling scheme divides the degrees of freedom into twobandwidth subsets: those whose indices are less than floor(K/2) andthose whose indices are greater than or equal to floor (K/2). In abeacon burst, the information symbol is signaled by the selection ofwhich bandwidth subset to use for the beacon symbol. Meanwhile, thedegrees of freedom with a bandwidth subset can be indexed with arelative index, and a relative index can be signaled in each beaconburst. In the interval of several beacon bursts, the sequence of therelative indices can be used to provide additional information,including the numbering structure.

The numbering structure is in effect a synchronization structure, andshould be used in the example in which a predetermined multiple ofinformation symbols may be used to send a fixed integer number ofbroadcast information bits. In that case, the numbering structure helpsto determine which information symbols should be used together todetermine the broadcast information bits. For example, in FIG. 2,suppose that the alphabet size of the information symbol in each beaconburst is 3. The information symbols of beacon bursts 214 and 216 mayjointly signal 3 bits, and those of beacon bursts 218 and 220 mayjointly signal another 3 bits. The numbering structures assist inidentifying the grouping of 214 and 216 so that the receiving devices donot make an error by grouping 216 and 218 together.

In accordance with some aspects, the numbering structure can be derivedsolely from the sequence of the information symbols observed over time.For example, in the above example, the alphabet size of an informationsymbol is 3 and, therefore, a pair of information symbols can signal 9distinct values. Eight of those values are used to signal 3 bits and thelast value is reserved or unused. The receiving device can utilize theabove structure “blindly” to derive the numbering structure.Specifically, the receiving device can assume a first numberingstructure and check the pairs of (214, 216), (218, 220) and so forth,and none of the pairs will have the value that is reserved, from whichthe receiving device can tell that the assumed numbering structure iscorrect. On the other hand, the receiving device can also assume asecond numbering structure and check the pairs of (216 and 218) and soforth, and by randomness, it is possible that some pairs will have thevalue that is reserved, from which the receiving device can tell thatthe assumed numbering structure is incorrect.

Generally, there are two or more steams of information that can be sentutilizing a broadcast signal. The first stream is usually used by mostcellular networks and include some parameters such as cellidentification, sector identification, transmission power, access powerand other information that helps the mobile device to determine theidentity of a base station. This first stream include parameters used bythe mobile device to determine when it is should access the basestation, when it should perform handoff and so forth.

The second stream or type of information can be information used tosupport both cellular and non-cellular applications. For example, thereis a licensed spectrum but it might also be desirable to allowpeer-to-peer networks, wherein certain mobile devices can perform ad hoccommunication to mitigate going through a base station. However, achallenge associated with allowing the mobile device to randomlyestablish this type of communication is that a service provider mightnot have ownership of the spectrum where it is desired to establish thecommunication. For example, a service provider with which the device isregistered might have ownership of a spectrum on the east coast butmight not have ownership of a spectrum on the west coast. The serviceprovider that owns the spectrum on the west coast would not wantunregistered devices to communicate in its spectrum. Thus, the deviceneeds information from the local service provider before communicationcan be established.

In another example, today there might be unused spectrum and devices canestablish peer-to-peer communications. However, a few years from now, aninfrastructure might be built and the owner (e.g., service provider) ofthat infrastructure (e.g., spectrum) would no longer permit thepeer-to-peer communications. Thus, the service provider would want toestablish control relating to how the spectrum is used. Thus, the mobiledevice should obtain this information before it starts to transmit inthese locations.

In accordance with some aspects, the information relating how to use thespectrum, which can be referred to as progressive information, can beplaced in the second stream, since the first stream can be used forUltra Mobile Broadband (UMB) information. The progressive informationmight not be very urgent and, the longer the mobile device listens, theamount of information received will become larger.

Either of the first or the second stream can be encoded with one of thetwo encoding schemes described previously. For example, the first streamcan be encoded as the information bits {b₁} while the second stream canbe encoded as the information bits {c_(i)}. Alternatively, the secondstream can be encoded as the information bits {b₁} while the firststream can be encoded as the information bits {c_(i)}.

With reference now to FIG. 20, illustrated is a portion of a broadcastmessage 2000 that includes timing (e.g., synchronization) information.Time is illustrated along the horizontal axis 2002. Conceptuallybroadcast message 2000 is a stream of information bits {b₁}. In block2004, b1 is transmitted; b2 is transmitted in block 2006 and b3 istransmitted in block 2008. In order to convey timing information, blocks2004, 2006, 2008 should have a pattern (e.g., timing pattern) ornumbering to allow the receiving device to interpret the message in aproper sequence.

For example, if the broadcast message begins with block b1 2004, theremight be certain things that should be broadcast in block b2 2006. Thiscan be performed with numbering mechanics, which can be found throughmultiple ways, such as finding {c_(i)}, were {c_(i)} has a particularperiodicity, which can be broadcast linearly. Once {c_(i)}, is decodedand the periodicity found, that can be used for the timing difference.In accordance with some aspects, the information carried on {c_(i)} canbe used to find a numbering mechanic.

In another example, illustrated in FIG. 21, {b_(i)} can be used todetermine a starting point. For example, each time there can be threelevels carried. Time is represented along the horizontal axis 2102 andthere are three information bits 2104, 2106, and 2108. Each block withinthe information bits can transmit either 1, 2 or 3 (e.g., three levels).Information bits 2104, 2106, 2108 collectively can signal nine-levels (0through 8). The last level “8” can be reserved or unused, or can be usedto carry information, not timing.

Adding another level with a fourth bit 2110 provides a problem becausethe sender can pick any combination of bits (e.g., 2104 and 2106; 2106and 2108; 2108 and 2110) and the receiver might not know which bits werereceived. However, in accordance with the example, bit 2108 should notbe used because it carries bit number 8, which should not be used. Thus,if the incorrect combination is chosen (e.g., 2106 and 2108), then thereis a possibility that the receiver will see bit 8 since it is valuecoding. If bit 8 is found by receiver, it indicates that the timing ismisaligned, which provides a timing structure (e.g., since 8 was notsupposed to be there, it is an error).

To determine timing, the receiver would obtain the timing informationand a bit stream, such as the example illustrated in FIG. 22, which canprovide a mark or indicator. This allows a phase structure to be definedwhere there can be synchronous and asynchronous messages. For example,the first two-bits after the mark 2202, 2204 carry some synchronousmessages (e.g., the location itself provides information about how tointerpret the message). The synchronous message does not necessarilyhave a message, the location itself is the message. The remainder of themessage (e.g., bits) can be taken together as an asynchronous message,which can be pieced together to obtain a header/body/message. Thestarting point and ending point can be determined by the message format,not necessarily the position or location.

At the receiving device listens for a longer duration to the message,the more bits it will receive. Within a synchronous message there can bemultiple groups of synchronous messages where some messages repeat atcertain times and other message repeat at different times. An examplemessage illustrating this is in FIG. 23, where message “A” repeats everyso often (illustrated at 2302, 2304, 2306) and messages “B” and “C” havea different periodicity (illustrated at 2308, 2310 and 2312, 2314,respectively). Thus, there can be different periodicity for differentsynchronous messages because the position itself becomes the timing thatwill define the interpretation of the bits.

The message can include particular information about how the spectrum isto be used, whether the device is allowed to use the spectrum and/orother information, or combinations thereof. For example, if the messageis broadcast in spectrum “1”, the message does not have to advisewhether that spectrum can be used, it can just indicate that the devicecan use spectrum “2”, where spectrum “2” is a waveform not affected.Thus, the message does not have to relate to the spectrum in which thebroadcast message is being broadcast, but can relate to other spectrumsthat might be available. The receiving device can listen to theparticular part of the message and make a decision to use anotherspectrum that is available. The message indicating the use of a currentor another spectrum can be in either a synchronous or an asynchronousmessage.

FIG. 24 illustrates an example system 2400 for transmitting a sequenceof broadcast information bits that includes one or more subsequences.System 2400 includes one or more senders 2402 that broadcast informationto one or more receivers 2404. Sender 2402 can determine and change abroadcasting schedule. For example, sender 2402 may broadcast somemessages more frequently than other messages and/or broadcast somemessages only once or a few times and then never repeat.

Sender can include an arranger 2406 that can be configured to define oneor more subsequences of broadcast information bits and determine astructure for the one or more subsequences within a broadcast message.The structure can be defined as positions of each subsequence within thebroadcast message. The position determination can be predefined.

The sequence can have a certain structure (e.g., numbering/timingstructure), that can be configured by an obtainer 2408 to indicate thepositions or locations of each subsequence within the broadcast messageor signal. The set of broadcast information can include a multiple ofsubsets, wherein each subset of broadcast information is sent, by abroadcaster 2410, using a particular subsequence. In accordance withsome aspects, the subsequences can be interleaved with each other.

A memory 2412 can be operatively coupled to receiver 2402 and can storeinformation and/or retain instructions relating to defining one or moresubsequences of broadcast information bits and determining a structureof the subsequences contained in a broadcast signal. A timing structurecan be encoded in the broadcast signal.

Memory 2412 can further retain instructions relating to marking thebeginning of each of the subsequences and transmitting the broadcastsignal. Marking the beginning of each of the subsequence can define aphase or timing structure. The indicated beginning of each of thesubsequences can allow synchronous and asynchronous messages to beincluded in the broadcast signal. A broadcast signal can include anasynchronous message, a synchronous message or combinations thereof. Inaccordance with some aspects, the location of the messages conveysinformation. The asynchronous message can include a message header thatprovides a definition of the asynchronous message. A definition of thesynchronous message can be a function of its position within thebroadcast signal.

Two or more subsequences included in the broadcast signal can havedifferent periodicities or can be interleaved with each other. Inaccordance with some aspects, a broadcasting cycle of a subsequence isat least one second and is transmitted one broadcasting cycle afteranother broadcasting cycle. Additionally or alternatively, broadcastsignal includes information about the use of a spectrum, devices allowedto use the spectrum or combinations thereof.

A processor 2414 can be operatively connected to receiver 2404 (and/ormemory 2412) to facilitate analysis of received information and/or canbe configured to execute the instructions retained in memory 2412.Processor 2414 can be a processor dedicated to analyzing informationreceived from sender 2402 and/or generating information that can beutilized by arranger 2406, obtainer 2408 and/or broadcaster 2410.Additionally or alternatively, processor 2414 can be a processor thatcontrols one or more components of system 2400, and/or a processor thatanalyzes information, generates information and/or controls one or morecomponents of system 2400.

With reference now to FIG. 25, illustrated is an example system 2500 forinterpreting a broadcast signal that includes a multiple ofsubsequences. A sender 2502 can be configured to broadcast informationintended for receiver 2504. The broadcast information can include amultiple of subsequences or might include a single subsequence. In orderto interpret the subsequences, receiver 2504 can include a timinglocator 2506, a message header definer 2508 and an evaluator 2510.

Timing locator 2506 can be configured to evaluate a received broadcastmessage and ascertain a timing structure. In accordance with someaspects, the format of at least a subset of the subsequences (e.g., theinterpretation of bits conveyed in the subsequence) can be predeterminedas a function of the position within the subsequence. The format canrepeat according to a predetermined broadcasting cycle. For example, theinformation bits conveyed in the subsequence can repeat according to thebroadcasting cycle. Thus, the information is sent in a synchronousmanner and the subsequence is called a synchronous subsequence. Inaccordance with some aspects, different subsequences may have differentbroadcasting cycles.

In accordance with some aspects, the format of some subsequences is notpredetermined as a function of the position within the subsequence. Theinformation bits conveyed in the subsequence may belong to differentbroadcast messages, which are not predetermined or fixed. Each messagemay include at least one of a message head and a message body. Thus, themessage can be sent in an asynchronous manner and the subsequence can bereferred to as an asynchronous subsequence. Message header definer 2508can be configured to evaluate the broadcast signal (or subsequencesincluded in the broadcast signal) to define the header.

In accordance with some aspects, the synchronous and asynchronoussubsequences can coexist in the sequence of broadcast information. In ashort time interval, the receiver 2504 should be able to obtain thenecessary broadcast information form the beacon signal to access thesender (e.g., serving station). As time passes, receiver 2504 canreceive more and more beacon bursts and can accumulate more and morebroadcast information bits.

Based on the information received and interpreted at least in part bythe defined message headers, evaluator 2510 can make a determinationwhether receiver 2504 should change from a first spectrum to a secondspectrum, stay on the current spectrum, alter its transmit power, orother parameters.

For example, a first mobile device would like to establish communicationwith a second mobile device (e.g., peer-to-peer communication). Amessage can be broadcast by a base station serving the geographic regionin which both mobile devices are located. The broadcast message mightinclude information indicating the devices can establish a peer-to-peercommunication if they use a specific spectrum. This can be transmittedon a channel “A” similar to the message illustrated in FIG. 23. Thepurpose of channel “B” can be to provide a different periodicity. Eachof the mobile devices would find the timing of the message to determinehow to interpret the bits. Once interpreted, the bits can be evaluatedto determine if a certain spectrum should be used, if there arepriorities for communication or other information. Additionalinformation that can be provided is power information, such as anindication that the mobile device(s) can only use power below athreshold level. Additionally or alternatively, there can be physicallayer/mac layer parameters the devices should have in order to determinerespective transmissions.

A memory 2512 can be operatively coupled to receiver 2502 and can storeinformation and/or retain instructions relating to receiving a broadcastsignal that includes at least one subsequence of broadcast informationbits. The subsequence can include at least one asynchronous message orat least one synchronous message, or combinations thereof. A definitionof the synchronous message can be a function of a position of thesynchronous message in the broadcast signal and the asynchronous messagecan include a message header that provides the definition of theasynchronous message.

Memory 215 can further retain instructions relating to locating abeginning position of each subsequence included in the receivedbroadcast signal and decoding the at least one subsequence based in parton the beginning position location. Finding a beginning position caninclude locating an indicator included in the beacon signal. Thebeginning position of a synchronous message can convey information.Memory 2512 can further retain instructions related to modifying atleast one parameter based in part on the interpreted messages.

A processor 2514 can be operatively connected to receiver 2504 (and/ormemory 2512) to facilitate analysis of received information and/or canbe configured to execute the instructions retained in memory 2512.Processor 2514 can be a processor dedicated to analyzing informationreceived from sender 2502 and/or generating information that can beutilized by information stream obtainer 2506, first information streamanalyzer 2508 and/or second information scheme interpreter 2510.Additionally or alternatively, processor 2514 can be a processor thatcontrols one or more components of system 2500, and/or a processor thatanalyzes information, generates information and/or controls one or morecomponents of system 2500.

According to some aspects, the sequence of broadcast information bitsincludes a multiple of sequences. FIG. 26 illustrates an example ofpartitioning the sequence of broadcast information bits 2600 into amultiple of subsequences implemented in accordance with the disclosedaspects.

The horizontal axis 2602 represents the logical time during which thesequence of broadcast information bits 2600 is sent. A number of boxesare shown sequentially over time, each of which represents a block ofinformation bits within the sequence 2600. The length of a boxillustrates the size of the corresponding block. The filing pattern of abox represents the block of bits belonging to an associated subsequence.The boxes with different filling patterns are associated with differentsubsequences. For example, boxes 2604, 2608, 2614, 2618 and 2624 allhave the same filling pattern and are used to send bits of a firstsubsequence. Boxes 2606, 2616 and 2626 all have the same filling patternand are used to send bits of a second subsequence. Boxes 2610 and 2620both have the same filling pattern and are used to send bits of a thirdsubsequence. Boxes 2612 and 2622 both have the same filing pattern andare used to send bits of a fourth subsequence.

In accordance with some aspects, the broadcasting cycle of onesubsequence may be different from that of another subsequence. Forexample, the first subsequence has a shorter cycle than the secondsubsequence, while the block size of the first subsequence is smallerthan that of the second subsequence.

The sequence is partitioned into the multiple of subsequences in apredetermined and fixed manner in the sense that the position of eachsubsequence within the sequence of broadcast information bits ispredetermined and fixed. The subsequences are interleaved with eachother. In order to allow the receiving device to synchronize with thesequence, in one example, the sequence has a certain structure (e.g.,numbering/timing structure) to indicate the positions of thesubsequences. For example, the numbering structure may be signaled bythe beacon symbols carried in the sequence of beacon bursts, similar toan earlier example. In another example, one subsequence (e.g., thefourth subsequence in FIG. 26) is a parity check of all the othersubsequences. For example, box 2622 contains the parity check bits ofpreceding boxes of all the other subsequences, including boxes 2614,2616, 2618 and 2620. Then, the receiving device can utilize the codingstructure and run a moving-window search to detect the position of theparity check box and, therefore, determine the synchronizationstructure.

The set of broadcast information includes a multiple of subsets. Eachsubset of broadcast information is sent using a particular subsequence.A subsequence may have its own format to interpret the bits conveyed inthe subsequence. Different subsequences may use different formats. Inaccordance with some aspects, a subsequence may use a synchronous orasynchronous format, as will be explained in more detail below. Thesequence may include a variety of synchronous subsequences and one or amultitude of asynchronous subsequences. In accordance with an example,there is only on asynchronous subsequence in the sequence.

The format of a synchronous subsequence (e.g., the interpretation of theinformation bits conveyed in the subsequence) is predetermined as afunction of the position within the subsequence. Therefore, no messagehead is needed to indicate how the bits should be interpreted. FIG. 27illustrates an example of a synchronous subsequence 2700 implemented inaccordance with the disclosed aspects.

The horizontal line 2702 represents time. Boxes 2704, 2708 and 2712 canconvey the information about version number and transmission power. Theversion number can be the software release version number and may beused to determine the compatibility between a serving station and amobile device. The transmission power may be the current transmissionpower of the serving station as well as the maximum power capability.Box 2706 can convey the information about spectrum allocation and typeof service. The spectrum allocation information might indicate whetherthe spectrum is FDD, TDD and so forth, and might further include thefrequency of the designated carriers or the frequency distance betweenthe designated downlink and uplink carriers in a FDD system. The type ofservice can be traditional cellular service, peer-to-peer ad hoc networkservice, cognitive radio service, and so forth. Box 2710 can convey theinformation about spectrum allocation and technology supported. Thetechnology supported indicates the air interface technology (e.g., CDMA,OFDMA, GSM, and the like). It should be noted that because theinformation of the version number is sent in the predetermined positionsof the subsequence, there is no need to add the message head.

In a given synchronous subsequence, the format can repeat according to apredetermined broadcasting cycle. Different pieces of information mayhave different broadcasting cycles (e.g., as a function of how frequentthe information should be sent to the receiving devices). In theillustrated example, the information of version number or spectrumallocation repeats every other box, while the broadcasting cycle fortype of service or technology supported is longer. In this manner, thereceiving device can obtain the time critical broadcast information in ashort time interval. Then, as the receiving device continues receivingthe beacon bursts, the receiving device can obtain more and morebroadcast information, including less time critical information.

The format of asynchronous subsequences is not predetermined as afunction of the position within the subsequence. The information bitsconveyed in the subsequence might belong to different broadcastmessages, and delimiters can be added to indicate the beginning and theending of individual messages. FIG. 28 illustrates an example of anasynchronous subsequence 2800 implemented in accordance with variousaspects disclosed herein.

Time is illustrated along horizontal line 2802. Boxes 2804, 2806 and2808 are part of the asynchronous subsequence. In the illustration, amessage starts within box 2804, continues in box 2806 and ends in box2808. The beginning and ending points of the message 2810 and 2812 aredefined by some delimiters. The subsequence can be used to senddifferent messages with different lengths. There is no strictly definedorder in which the message are sent. The serving station has the freedomto determine and change the broadcasting schedule. Therefore, theoccurrence of a particular message is not predetermined. Each messagemay include at least one of a message head and a message body.

In general, the message are sent sequentially with a given asynchronoussubsequence. In accordance with some aspects, there are multipleasynchronous subsequences, which interleave with each other within thesequence of broadcast information, in which case more than one messagecan be sent in parallel.

FIG. 29 illustrates an example method 2900 of transmitting a broadcastsignal that includes one or more sequences of broadcast informationbits. Method 2900 starts, at 2902, where one or more subsequences ofbroadcast information bits contained in a broadcast message are defined.At 2904 a position structure of the one or more subsequences aredetermined. Determining the position structure can include determiningpositions of each subsequence within the broadcast message, which can bepredefined. The structure can be defined as at least one of a numberingor a timing or combinations thereof.

In order for a receiver of a message, that includes one or moresubsequences to understand the message, the positions of one or moresubsequences are indicated or marked, at 2906. In accordance with someaspects, a timing structure can be determined for indicating positionsof the one or more subsequences. The timing structure can be encoding inthe broadcast signal.

The broadcast signal is transmitted, at 2908, to an intended recipient.Two or more subsequences can be sent with different periodicities (e.g.,a first message can be broadcast within the broadcast signal morefrequently than at least a second message). A first message might bebroadcast only a few times and never repeated. A broadcasting cycle ofthe one of the subsequences can be about one second and the subsequencecan be transmitted one broadcasting cycle after another broadcastingcycle. Two or more subsequences can be interleaved with each other.

The sequence of broadcast information bits can include an asynchronousmessage, a synchronous message or combinations thereof (e.g., at leastone asynchronous message and one or more synchronous messages includedin the sequence of broadcast information bits). The synchronous messagecan be defined as a function of a position of the synchronous message inthe broadcast signal. A message header that provides the definition ofthe asynchronous message can be included in the asynchronous message.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example method 3000 for interpreting timinginformation and related messages within a received broadcast signal. At3002, a broadcast message that includes at least one subsequence ofbroadcast information bits is received. A subsequence can be about onesecond or longer and can be received one broadcasting cycle afteranother broadcasting cycle. Two or more subsequences can be received atdifferent periodicities and/or may be interleaved with each other. Inaccordance with some aspects, the broadcast signal can include at leastone asynchronous message or at least one synchronous message orcombinations thereof. A definition of the one or more synchronousmessages can be a function of a position of the synchronous message inthe received broadcast signal. The one or more asynchronous messages caninclude a message header that indicates a definition of the asynchronousmessage.

At 3004, a position of one or more subsequences is determined based onan indicator contained in the broadcast signal. The indicator canspecify a location or position of each subsequence within the broadcastsignal. The one or more subsequences of broadcast information can bedecoded, at 3006 based in part on the determined position. A timingstructure included in the broadcast signal can also be decoded. Thetiming can be determined based in part on a starting location orposition of the one or more subsequences.

Based in part on the information included in the decoded message, one ormore parameters can be changed. For example, a determination can be madeto change from a first spectrum to another spectrum based on informationincluded in the message. Another example is modifying a power based onmessage information, determining which spectrum to use, or changingother parameters.

In accordance with some aspects, method 3000 further comprises piecingtogether portions of the broadcast signal to derive aheader/body/message sequence and/or determining a starting point andending point of the message based in part on a message format.

It will be appreciated that, in accordance with one or more aspectsdescribed herein, inferences can be made regarding transmission and/orinterpretation of broadcast signals. As used herein, the term to “infer”or “inference” refers generally to the process of reasoning about orinferring states of the system, environment, and/or user from a set ofobservations as captured through events and/or data. Inference can beemployed to identify a specific context or action, or can generate aprobability distribution over states, for example. The inference can beprobabilistic—that is, the computation of a probability distributionover states of interest based on a consideration of data and events.Inference can also refer to techniques employed for composinghigher-level events from a set of events and/or data. Such inferenceresults in the construction of new events or actions from a set ofobserved events and/or stored event data, whether or not the events arecorrelated in close temporal proximity, and whether the events and datacome from one or several event and data sources.

According to an example, one or more methods presented above can includemaking inferences pertaining to selecting a degree of freedom duringwhich to transmit a beacon symbol. According to another example, aninference can be made relating to combining and/or decoding a substreamof information included in a broadcast signal independently from anotherstream of information. In accordance with another example, an inferencecan be made relating to one or more subsequences included in a broadcastmessage. It will be appreciated that the foregoing examples areillustrative in nature and are not intended to limit the number ofinferences that can be made or the manner in which such inferences aremade in conjunction with the various examples described herein.

FIG. 31 depicts an example communication system 3100 implemented inaccordance with various aspects including multiple cells: cell 13102,cell M 3104. Note that neighboring cells 3102, 3104 overlap slightly, asindicated by cell boundary region 3168, thereby creating potential forsignal interference between signals transmitted by base stations inneighboring cells. Each cell 3102, 3104 of system 3100 includes threesectors. Cells which have not be subdivided into multiple sectors (N=1),cells with two sectors (N=2) and cells with more than 3 sectors (N>3)are also possible in accordance with various aspects. Cell 3102 includesa first sector, sector 13110, a second sector, sector II 3112, and athird sector, sector III 3114. Each sector 3110, 3112, 3114 has twosector boundary regions; each boundary region is shared between twoadjacent sectors.

Sector boundary regions provide potential for signal interferencebetween signals transmitted by base stations in neighboring sectors.Line 3116 represents a sector boundary region between sector 13110 andsector II 3112; line 3118 represents a sector boundary region betweensector II 3112 and sector III 3114; line 3120 represents a sectorboundary region between sector III 3114 and sector 1 3110. Similarly,cell M 3104 includes a first sector, sector 13122, a second sector,sector II 3124, and a third sector, sector III 3126. Line 3128represents a sector boundary region between sector 13122 and sector II3124; line 3130 represents a sector boundary region between sector II3124 and sector III 3126; line 3132 represents a boundary region betweensector III 3126 and sector 13122. Cell 13102 includes a base station(BS), base station 13106, and a plurality of end nodes (ENs) (e.g.,wireless terminals) in each sector 3110, 3112, 3114. Sector 13110includes EN(1) 3136 and EN(X) 3138 coupled to BS 3106 through wirelesslinks 3140, 3142, respectively; sector II 3112 includes EN(1′) 3144 andEN(X′) 3146 coupled to BS 3106 through wireless links 3148, 3150,respectively; sector III 3114 includes EN(1″) 3152 and EN(X″) 3154coupled to BS 3106 through wireless links 3156, 3158, respectively.Similarly, cell M 3104 includes base station M 3108, and a plurality ofend nodes (ENs) in each sector 3122, 3124, 3126. Sector 13122 includesEN(1) 3136′ and EN(X) 3138′ coupled to BSM 3108 through wireless links3140′, 3142′, respectively; sector II 3124 includes EN(1′) 3144′ andEN(X′) 3146′ coupled to BS M 3108 through wireless links 3148′, 3150′,respectively; sector 3 3126 includes EN(1″) 3152′ and EN(X″) 3154′coupled to BS 3108 through wireless links 3156′, 3158′, respectively.

System 3100 also includes a network node 3160 which is coupled to BS I3106 and BS M 3108 through network links 3162, 3164, respectively.Network node 3160 is also coupled to other network nodes, e.g., otherbase stations, AAA server nodes, intermediate nodes, routers, etc. andthe Internet through network link 3166. Network links 3162, 3164, 3166may be, e.g., fiber optic cables. Each end node, e.g., EN(1) 3136 may bea wireless terminal including a transmitter as well as a receiver. Thewireless terminals, e.g., EN(1) 3136 may move through system 3100 andmay communicate through wireless links with the base station in the cellin which the EN is currently located. The wireless terminals, (WTs),e.g., EN(1) 3136, may communicate with peer nodes, e.g., other WTs insystem 3100 or outside system 3100 through a base station, e.g., BS3106, and/or network node 3160. WTs, e.g., EN(1) 3136 may be mobilecommunications devices such as cell phones, personal data assistantswith wireless modems, etc. Respective base stations perform tone subsetallocation using a different method for the strip-symbol periods, fromthe method employed for allocating tones and determining tone hopping inthe rest symbol periods, e.g., non strip-symbol periods. The wirelessterminals use the tone subset allocation method along with informationreceived from the base station, e.g., base station slope ID, sector IDinformation, to determine tones that they can employ to receive data andinformation at specific strip-symbol periods. The tone subset allocationsequence is constructed, in accordance with various aspects to spreadinter-sector and inter-cell interference across respective tones.

FIG. 32 illustrates an example base station 3200 in accordance withvarious aspects. Base station 3200 implements tone subset allocationsequences, with different tone subset allocation sequences generated forrespective different sector types of the cell. Base station 3200 may beused as any one of base stations 806, 808 of the system 3100 of FIG. 31.The base station 3200 includes a receiver 3202, a transmitter 3204, aprocessor 3206, e.g., CPU, an input/output interface 3208 and memory3210 coupled together by a bus 3209 over which various elements 3202,3204, 3206, 3208, and 3210 may interchange data and information.

Sectorized antenna 3203 coupled to receiver 3202 is used for receivingdata and other signals, e.g., channel reports, from wireless terminalstransmissions from each sector within the base station's cell.Sectorized antenna 3205 coupled to transmitter 3204 is used fortransmitting data and other signals, e.g., control signals, pilotsignal, beacon signals, etc. to wireless terminals 3300 (see FIG. 33)within each sector of the base station's cell. In various aspects, basestation 3200 may employ multiple receivers 3202 and multipletransmitters 3204, e.g., an individual receiver 3202 for each sector andan individual transmitter 3204 for each sector. Processor 3206 may be,e.g., a general purpose central processing unit (CPU). Processor 3206controls operation of base station 3200 under direction of one or moreroutines 3218 stored in memory 3210 and implements the methods. I/Ointerface 3208 provides a connection to other network nodes, couplingthe BS 3200 to other base stations, access routers, AAA server nodes,etc., other networks, and the Internet. Memory 3210 includes routines3218 and data/information 3220.

Data/information 3220 includes data 3236, tone subset allocationsequence information 3238 including downlink strip-symbol timeinformation 3240 and downlink tone information 3242, and wirelessterminal (WT) data/info 3244 including a plurality of sets of WTinformation: WT 1 info 3246 and WT N info 3260. Each set of WT info,e.g., WT 1 info 3246 includes data 3248, terminal ID 3250, sector ID3252, uplink channel information 3254, downlink channel information3256, and mode information 3258.

Routines 3218 include communications routines 3222, base station controlroutines 3224, and combination routines 3262. Base station controlroutines 3224 includes a scheduler module 3226 and signaling routines3228 including a tone subset allocation routine 3230 for strip-symbolperiods, other downlink tone allocation hopping routine 3232 for therest of symbol periods, e.g., non strip-symbol periods, and a beaconroutine 3234. Combination routines 3262 can further include informationcombination routines (not shown), value combination routines (not shown)and/or flow stream combination routines (not shown).

Data 3236 includes data to be transmitted that will be sent to encoder3214 of transmitter 3204 for encoding prior to transmission to WTs, andreceived data from WTs that has been processed through decoder 3212 ofreceiver 3202 following reception. Downlink strip-symbol timeinformation 3240 includes the frame synchronization structureinformation, such as the superslot, beaconslot, and ultraslot structureinformation and information specifying whether a given symbol period isa strip-symbol period, and if so, the index of the strip-symbol periodand whether the strip-symbol is a resetting point to truncate the tonesubset allocation sequence used by the base station. Downlink toneinformation 3242 includes information including a carrier frequencyassigned to the base station 3200, the number and frequency of tones,and the set of tone subsets to be allocated to the strip-symbol periods,and other cell and sector specific values such as slope, slope index andsector type.

Data 3248 may include data that WT1 3300 has received from a peer node,data that WT 1 3300 desires to be transmitted to a peer node, anddownlink channel quality report feedback information. Terminal ID 3250is a base station 3200 assigned ID that identifies WT 1 3300. Sector ID3252 includes information identifying the sector in which WT1 3300 isoperating. Sector ID 3252 can be used, for example, to determine thesector type. Uplink channel information 3254 includes informationidentifying channel segments that have been allocated by scheduler 3226for WT1 3300 to use, e.g., uplink traffic channel segments for data,dedicated uplink control channels for requests, power control, timingcontrol, etc. Each uplink channel assigned to WT1 3300 includes one ormore logical tones, each logical tone following an uplink hoppingsequence. Downlink channel information 3256 includes informationidentifying channel segments that have been allocated by scheduler 3226to carry data and/or information to WT1 3300, e.g., downlink trafficchannel segments for user data. Each downlink channel assigned to WT13300 includes one or more logical tones, each following a downlinkhopping sequence. Mode information 3258 includes information identifyingthe state of operation of WT1 3300, e.g. sleep, hold, on.

Communications routines 3222 control the base station 3200 to performvarious communications operations and implement various communicationsprotocols. Base station control routines 3224 are used to control thebase station 3200 to perform basic base station functional tasks, e.g.,signal generation and reception, scheduling, and to implement the stepsof the method of some aspects including transmitting signals to wirelessterminals using the tone subset allocation sequences during thestrip-symbol periods.

Signaling routine 3228 controls the operation of receiver 3202 with itsdecoder 3212 and transmitter 3204 with its encoder 3214. The signalingroutine 3228 is responsible for controlling the generation oftransmitted data 3236 and control information. Tone subset allocationroutine 3230 constructs the tone subset to be used in a strip-symbolperiod using the method of the aspect and using data/information 3220including downlink strip-symbol time info 3240 and sector ID 3252. Thedownlink tone subset allocation sequences will be different for eachsector type in a cell and different for adjacent cells. The WTs 3300receive the signals in the strip-symbol periods in accordance with thedownlink tone subset allocation sequences; the base station 3200 usesthe same downlink tone subset allocation sequences in order to generatethe transmitted signals. Other downlink tone allocation hopping routine3232 constructs downlink tone hopping sequences, using informationincluding downlink tone information 3242, and downlink channelinformation 3256, for the symbol periods other than the strip-symbolperiods. The downlink data tone hopping sequences are synchronizedacross the sectors of a cell. Beacon routine 3234 controls thetransmission of a beacon signal, e.g., a signal of relatively high powersignal concentrated on one or a few tones, which may be used forsynchronization purposes, e.g., to synchronize the frame timingstructure of the downlink signal and therefore the tone subsetallocation sequence with respect to an ultra-slot boundary.

Combination routines 3262 can further include can further includeinformation combination routines (not shown), value combination routines(not shown) and/or flow stream combination routines (not shown). Forexample, an information combination routine can include routines forchoosing a sub-group from at least two sub-groups in a predeterminedmanner, selecting a degree of freedom to transmit a beacon signalindependent of the choice of the sub-group, and transmit at least twosubsets of information at a high energy level within the chosensub-group and the selected degree of freedom. The selected degree offreedom can be a function of the chosen sub-group.

In another example, value combination routines can include assigningindependent values to a first information stream and a secondinformation stream and combining the independent values for transmissionin a single high level beacon signal. The independent values can beselectively coded and decoded. Stream combination routines can relatedto dividing a block comprising a frequency unit and a time unit into afirst information stream and at least a second information stream,combining the first information stream and the at least a secondinformation stream and transmitting the combined information streamsduring the chosen portion of the frequency and the time. The streams canrepresent a chosen portion of the frequency and the time.

FIG. 33 illustrates an example wireless terminal (e.g., end node, mobiledevice, . . . ) 3300 which can be used as any one of the wirelessterminals (e.g., end nodes, mobile devices, . . . ), e.g., EN(1) 836, ofthe system 800 shown in FIG. 8. Wireless terminal 3300 implements thetone subset allocation sequences. Wireless terminal 3300 includes areceiver 3302 including a decoder 3312, a transmitter 3304 including anencoder 3314, a processor 3306, and memory 3308 which are coupledtogether by a bus 3310 over which the various elements 3302, 3304, 3306,3308 can interchange data and information. An antenna 3303 used forreceiving signals from a base station 3200 (and/or a disparate wirelessterminal) is coupled to receiver 3302. An antenna 3305 used fortransmitting signals, e.g., to base station 3200 (and/or a disparatewireless terminal) is coupled to transmitter 3304.

The processor 3306 (e.g., a CPU) controls operation of wireless terminal3300 and implements methods by executing routines 3320 and usingdata/information 3322 in memory 3308.

Data/information 3322 includes user data 3334, user information 3336,and tone subset allocation sequence information 3350. User data 3334 mayinclude data, intended for a peer node, which will be routed to encoder3314 for encoding prior to transmission by transmitter 3304 to basestation 3200, and data received from the base station 3200 which hasbeen processed by the decoder 3312 in receiver 3302. User information3336 includes uplink channel information 3338, downlink channelinformation 3340, terminal ID information 3342, base station IDinformation 3344, sector ID information 3346, and mode information 3348.Uplink channel information 3338 includes information identifying uplinkchannels segments that have been assigned by base station 3200 forwireless terminal 3300 to use when transmitting to the base station3200. Uplink channels may include uplink traffic channels, dedicateduplink control channels, e.g., request channels, power control channelsand timing control channels. Each uplink channel includes one or morelogic tones, each logical tone following an uplink tone hoppingsequence. The uplink hopping sequences are different between each sectortype of a cell and between adjacent cells. Downlink channel information3340 includes information identifying downlink channel segments thathave been assigned by base station 3200 to WT 3300 for use when BS 3200is transmitting data/information to WT 3300. Downlink channels mayinclude downlink traffic channels and assignment channels, each downlinkchannel including one or more logical tone, each logical tone followinga downlink hopping sequence, which is synchronized between each sectorof the cell.

User info 3336 also includes terminal ID information 3342, which is abase station 3200 assigned identification, base station ID information3344 which identifies the specific base station 3200 that WT hasestablished communications with, and sector ID info 3346 whichidentifies the specific sector of the cell where WT 3300 is presentlylocated. Base station ID 3344 provides a cell slope value and sector IDinfo 3346 provides a sector index type; the cell slope value and sectorindex type may be used to derive tone hopping sequences. Modeinformation 3348 also included in user info 3336 identifies whether theWT 3300 is in sleep mode, hold mode, or on mode.

Tone subset allocation sequence information 3350 includes downlinkstrip-symbol time information 3352 and downlink tone information 3354.Downlink strip-symbol time information 3352 include the framesynchronization structure information, such as the superslot,beaconslot, and ultraslot structure information and informationspecifying whether a given symbol period is a strip-symbol period, andif so, the index of the strip-symbol period and whether the strip-symbolis a resetting point to truncate the tone subset allocation sequenceused by the base station. Downlink tone info 3354 includes informationincluding a carrier frequency assigned to the base station 3200, thenumber and frequency of tones, and the set of tone subsets to beallocated to the strip-symbol periods, and other cell and sectorspecific values such as slope, slope index and sector type.

Routines 3320 include communications routines 3324, wireless terminalcontrol routines 3326, synchronization routines 3328, paging messagegeneration/broadcast routines 3330, and paging message detectionroutines 3332. Communications routines 3324 control the variouscommunications protocols used by WT 3300. For example, communicationsroutines 3324 may enable communicating via a wide area network (e.g.,with base station 3200) and/or a local area peer-to-peer network (e.g.,directly with disparate wireless terminal(s)). By way of furtherexample, communications routines 3324 may enable receiving a broadcastsignal (e.g., from base station 3200). Wireless terminal controlroutines 3326 control basic wireless terminal 3300 functionalityincluding the control of the receiver 3302 and transmitter 3304.Synchronization routines 3328 control synchronizing wireless terminal3300 to a received signal (e.g., from base station 3200). Peers within apeer-to-peer network may also be synchronized to the signal. Forexample, the received signal may be a Beacon, a PN (pseudo random)sequence signal, a pilot signal, etc. Further, the signal may beperiodically obtained and a protocol (e.g., associated withsynchronization routines 3328) also known to peers may be utilized toidentify intervals corresponding to distinct functions (e.g., peerdiscovery, paging, traffic). Paging message generation/broadcastroutines 3330 control creating a message for transmission during anidentified peer paging interval. A symbol and/or tone associated withthe message may be selected based upon a protocol (e.g., associated withpaging message generation/broadcast routines 3330). Moreover, pagingmessage generation/broadcast routines 3330 may control sending themessage to peers within the peer-to-peer network. Paging messagedetection routines 3332 control detection and identification of peersbased upon messages received during an identified peer paging interval.Further, paging message detection routines 3332 may identify peers basedat least in part upon information retained in buddy peer list 3356.

Routines 3320 include communications routines 3324 and wireless terminalcontrol routines 3326. Communications routines 3324 control the variouscommunications protocols used by WT 3300. By way of example,communications routines 3324 may enable receiving a broadcast signal(e.g., from base station 3200). Wireless terminal control routines 3326control basic wireless terminal 3300 functionality including the controlof the receiver 3302 and transmitter 3304.

Routines can also include decoding routines 1028, which can includeinformation decoding routines, value decoding routines and/or streamdecoding routines (not shown). For example information decoding routinescan include receiving a first and at least a second subset ofinformation at a high energy level within a sub-group and a degree offreedom, decoding the first subset of information based in part on thereceived subgroup and decoding decode the at least a second subset ofinformation based in part on the degree of freedom.

In another example, value decoding routines can include receiving abeacon signal that includes a combination of two independent values,decoding a first independent value from the combination to obtain afirst information stream and decoding a second independent value fromthe combination to obtain a second information stream. A stream decodingroutine can include receiving a combination of information streamsduring a portion of frequency and a portion of time, dividing thecombination of information streams into a first information stream andat least a second information streams and decoding the first informationstream and the second information stream into its corresponding afrequency unit and time unit.

With reference to FIG. 34, illustrated is a system 3400 that enablesindependent coding of at least two subsets of information in a beaconsignal within a wireless communication environment. For example, system3400 may reside at least partially within a base station. It is to beappreciated that system 3400 is represented as including functionalblocks, which may be functional blocks that represent functionsimplemented by a processor, software, or combination thereof (e.g.,firmware).

System 3400 includes a logical grouping 3402 of electrical componentsthat can act in conjunction. For instance, logical grouping 3402 mayinclude an electrical component for creating a first and a second subsetof broadcast information bits 3404 from a multitude of broadcastinformation bits. Further, logical grouping 3402 can comprise anelectrical component for dividing a set of bandwidth degrees of freedominto at least two subsets 3406. Pursuant to an illustration, the twogroups can be a contiguous block of tone-symbols or each block oftone-symbols can be remote from each other. Moreover, between twobandwidth subsets there may be a few tone-symbols left unused.

Logical grouping 3402 can further comprising an electrical component forindependently choosing one subset from the at least two subsets 3408 asa function of the first subset of broadcast information. Also includedcan be an electrical component for independently selecting one or moreof the bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosen subset 3410. Choosingthe bandwidth degrees of freedom can be a function of the second subsetof broadcast information. Since electrical components 3408 and 3410operate independently of each other, a change to one subset ofinformation does not have an affect on other subsets of information.Logical grouping 3402 can further comprise an electrical component forselectively transmitting information in the at least one bandwidthdegree of freedom 3412. The information can be related to a basicconfiguration of a wireless system. The second subset of information canbe related to handoff. The subsets of information can be transmitted ata high-energy as compared to other non-selected tone-symbols and/orgroups.

In accordance with some aspects, electrical grouping 3402 can include anelectrical component for transmitting the beacon signal at a power ineach selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10 dB higherthan an average transmission power used in each non-selected degree offreedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom.

Additionally, system 3400 may include a memory 3414 that retainsinstructions for executing functions associated with electricalcomponents 3404, 3406, 3408, 3410 and 3412. While shown as beingexternal to memory 3414, it is to be understood that one or more ofelectrical components 3404, 3406, 3408, 3410 and 3412 may exist withinmemory 3414.

With reference to FIG. 35, illustrated is a system 3500 that facilitatessending two independent information streams that represent a waveform.System 3500 may reside at least partially within a base station. It isto be appreciated that system 3500 is represented as includingfunctional blocks, which may be functional blocks that representfunctions implemented by a processor, software, or combination thereof(e.g., firmware).

System 3500 includes a logical grouping 3502 of electrical componentsthat can act in conjunction. Logical grouping 3502 may include anelectrical component for assigning independent values to a firstinformation stream and a second information stream 3504. The values areassigned as independent values so that a change to one of theinformation streams does not have an affect on the other informationstream. Also included in logical grouping 3502 is an electricalcomponent for combining the independent values to produce a compositevalue 3506. Further, logical grouping 3502 can comprise an electricalcomponent for outputting a waveform that is a function of the compositevalue 3508. Electrical component 3508 can output other signals atsubstantially a same time as outputting the produced waveform mapping.The waveform can include a high-energy beacon signal. Electricalcomponent for outputting the waveform 3508 can provide a transmissionpower of the beacon signal per degree of freedom being at least 10 dBhigher than a transmission power of other signals sent at substantiallya same time.

In accordance with some aspects, logical grouping 3502 can comprise anelectrical component for assigning a periodicity to the firstinformation stream that is different from a periodicity of the secondinformation stream (not shown). That is to say, each different stream ofinformation can repeat at a similar time or at different times withoutaffecting the other. Additionally or alternatively, logical grouping3502 can include an electrical component for representing the secondinformation stream as a sequence of {Y_(i)} bits (not shown). The meansfor combining the independent information stream values 3506 can utilizeequation Z_(i)={X_(i)}*Q+{Y_(i)}, where Q a maximum value of the firstinformation stream. A chosen block of a broadcast message can beindicated by {X_(i)} and {Y_(i)} indicates a location within the chosenblock. A space occupied by Z_(i) can be larger than a space occupied by{X_(i)} and a space occupied by {Y_(i)}.

Additionally, system 3500 may include a memory 3510 that can retaininstructions for executing functions associated with electricalcomponents 3504, 3506, and 3508. While shown as being external to memory3510, it is to be understood that one or more of electrical components3504, 3506, and 3508 may exist within memory 3510.

With reference to FIG. 36, illustrated is a system 3600 that facilitatestransmission of information using a set of tones in a set of timesymbols within a wireless communication environment. System 3600 mayreside at least partially within a base station. It is to be appreciatedthat system 3600 is represented as including functional blocks, whichmay be functional blocks that represent functions implemented by aprocessor, software, or combination thereof (e.g., firmware). System3600 includes a logical grouping 3602 of electrical components that canact in conjunction. Logical grouping 3602 can include an electricalcomponent for choosing a block 3604. The block can include a set offrequency tones and a set of time symbols.

Also included in logical grouping can be an electrical component forseparating the block into two or more subgroups as a function of a firstinformation stream 3606 and an electrical component for segmenting eachof the two or more subgroups into micro blocks as a function of a secondinformation stream 3608. Separating the block and segmenting thesubgroups can be performed in a predetermined manner. Each of the microblocks can include one or more frequency tones in one time symbol. Thefirst information stream and second information stream can be portionsof a block that includes a frequency tone and a time symbol. Changes tothe frequency portion and the time portion do not affect each other andas such, they can be mutually exclusive. That is to say, changes to thefirst information stream do not change the second information stream.Logical grouping 3602 can also include a means for choosing a microblock in which to transmit information as a high-energy beacon. Themicro blocks might be next to each other, disjoint from each other andmight not be equally spaced.

Additionally, logical grouping 3602 can include an electrical componentfor dividing the block into sub-blocks that represent the firstinformation stream (not shown). An electrical component for partitioningthe sub-blocks into degrees of freedom that represent the secondinformation stream (not shown) and/or an electrical component forpartitioning the block into the first information stream and the secondinformation stream in a predetermined manner might also be include inlogical grouping 3602.

Additionally, system 3600 may include a memory 3612 that retainsinstructions for executing functions associated with electricalcomponents 3604, 3606, 3608 and 3610. While shown as being external tomemory 3612, it is to be understood that one or more of electricalcomponents 3604, 3606, 3608 and 3610 may exist within memory 3612.

With reference to FIG. 37, illustrated is a system 3700 that enablesindependent decoding of information received in a beacon signal within awireless communication environment. For example, system 3700 may resideat least partially within a mobile device. It is to be appreciated thatsystem 3700 is represented as including functional blocks, which may befunctional blocks that represent functions implemented by a processor,software, or combination thereof (e.g., firmware).

System 3700 includes a logical grouping 3702 of electrical componentsthat can act in conjunction. For instance, logical grouping 3702 mayinclude an electrical component for selectively receiving information inat least one bandwidth degree of information 3704. Pursuant to anillustration, the information can related to a basic configuration andthe second subset of information can be related to handoff. Electricalcomponent 3704 may further distinguish a beacon signal received at ahigh energy as compared to other received beacon signals. Also includedin logical grouping 3702 can be an electrical component for determiningwhich bandwidth degree of freedom was received 3706 and an electricalcomponent for deciding which subset from at least two subsets includedthe one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom 3708.

Additionally, logical grouping 3702 can include an electrical componentfor combining the two or more subsets into a set of bandwidth degrees offreedom 3710. Also included is an electrical component for decoding thebroadcast information bits 3712 from the first subset of broadcastinformation bits and the second subset of broadcast information bits.

In accordance with some aspects, system 3700 can include a logicalcomponent for receiving the beacon signal at a power in each selectedbandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10 dB higher than anaverage transmission power used in each non-selected degree of freedomin the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom. System 3700 can also includean electrical component for determining in which sub-group the beaconsignal was received based in part on the first subset of information(not shown). Also included can be an electrical component forascertaining in which degree of freedom the beacon signal was receivedbased in part on the at least a second subset of information.

Additionally, system 3700 may include a memory 3714 that retainsinstructions for executing functions associated with electricalcomponents 3704, 3706, 3708, 3710, and 3712. While shown as beingexternal to memory 3714, it is to be understood that one or more ofelectrical components 3704, 3706, 3708, 3710, and 3712 may exist withinmemory 3714.

With reference to FIG. 38, illustrated is a system 3800 that enablesdeciphering two independent information streams that represent awaveform within a wireless communication environment. For example,system 3800 may reside at least partially within a mobile device. It isto be appreciated that system 3800 is represented as includingfunctional blocks, which may be functional blocks that representfunctions implemented by a processor, software, or combination thereof(e.g., firmware).

System 3800 includes a logical grouping 3802 of electrical componentsthat can act in conjunction. For instance, logical grouping 3802 mayinclude an electrical component for receiving a waveform that includes ahigh-energy beacon signal 3804. The high-energy beacon signal can bereceived at substantially a same time as other signals. Logical grouping3802 can also include an electrical component for breaking the waveforminto independent information stream values 3806 and an electricalcomponent for deciphering a first value of a first information streamand a second value of a second information stream from the independentinformation stream values 3808.

In accordance with some aspects, logical grouping 3802 can include anelectrical component for interpreting a periodicity of the first valuethat is different from a periodicity of the second value (not shown).Additionally or alternatively, logical grouping 3802 can include anelectrical component for deciphering the first information stream as asignal {X_(i)} included in {b₁} and an electrical module for decipheringthe second information stream as a sequence of {Y_(i)} included in{c_(i)}, where {Y_(i)}represents a single bit (not shown). A chosenblock of a broadcast message can be indicated by {X_(i)} and {Y_(i)}indicates a location within the chosen block.

Additionally, system 3800 may include a memory 3810 that retainsinstructions for executing functions associated with electricalcomponents 3804, 3806, and 3808. While shown as being external to memory3810, it is to be understood that one or more of electrical components3804, 3806, and 3808 may exist within memory 3810.

With reference to FIG. 39, illustrated is a system 3900 that receivesinformation during a frequency portion and a time portion within awireless communication environment. For example, system 3900 may resideat least partially within a mobile device. It is to be appreciated thatsystem 3900 is represented as including functional blocks, which may befunctional blocks that represent functions implemented by a processor,software, or combination thereof (e.g., firmware). System 3900 includesa logical grouping 3902 of electrical components that can act inconjunction.

For instance, logical grouping 3902 may include an electrical componentfor receiving a high-energy beacon 3904. The high-energy beaconrepresents a micro block that includes at least one frequency tone inone time symbol. Also included can be an electrical component fordetermining a subgroup from which the micro block was chosen 3906. Thesubgroup can include a subset of frequency tones in a subset of timesymbols. Also included can be an electrical component for analyzinginformation contained in the high-energy beacon to determine a blockfrom which the subgroup was chosen 3908. The block can include a set offrequency tones in a set of time symbols. The high-energy beacon cancomprises a combination of a first information stream and a secondinformation stream. The subgroup could have been chosen as a function ofthe first information stream and the micro block could have been chosenas a function of a second information stream. Changes to a frequencyportion and a time portion do not affect each other.

In accordance with some aspects, logical grouping can include anelectrical component for analyzing the first information streamutilizing the equation {circumflex over (X)}_(i)=floor (Z_(i)/L) (notshown). Also included can be an electrical component for analyzing thesecond information stream utilizing the equation Ŷ_(i)=mod(Z_(i), L)(not shown).

Additionally, system 3900 may include a memory 3910 that retainsinstructions for executing functions associated with electricalcomponents 3904, 3906, and 3908. While shown as being external to memory3910, it is to be understood that one or more of electrical components3904, 3906, and 3908 may exist within memory 3910.

FIG. 40 illustrates a system that enables transmission of a broadcastsignal that contains a subsequence of broadcast information bits. Forexample, system 4000 may reside at least partially within a basestation. It is to be appreciated that system 4000 is represented asincluding functional blocks, which may be functional blocks thatrepresent functions implemented by a processor, software, or combinationthereof (e.g., firmware).

System 4000 includes a logical grouping 4002 of electrical componentsthat can act in conjunction. Logical grouping 4002 may include anelectrical component for establishing a subsequence of broadcastinformation bits 4004. The subsequence can include one or moreasynchronous messages and/or one or more synchronous messages. A messageheader can be included in the asynchronous message to indicate adefinition of the asynchronous message. A definition of the synchronousmessage can be a function of a position of the synchronous message in abroadcast signal.

Logical grouping 4002 can also include an electrical component fordefining a position structure of the subsequence 4006. The positionstructure can be predefined. Also included in logical grouping 4002 canbe an electrical component for indicating a beginning of the subsequence4008 and an electrical component for transmitting the broadcast signal4010.

In accordance with some aspects, system 4000 can also include anelectrical component for defining a plurality of subsequences ofbroadcast information bits. Also included can be an electrical componentfor locating each of the plurality of subsequences within the firstsequence of information bits and/or an electrical component forestablishing a timing structure that designates the location of thesubsequences. Also included can be an electrical component for encodingthe timing structure in the broadcast signal. In accordance with someaspects, logical grouping also includes an electrical component forassigning different periodicities to different synchronous messagesincluded in the broadcast signal.

Additionally, system 4000 may include a memory 4012 that retainsinstructions for executing functions associated with electricalcomponents 4004, 4006, 4008 and 4010. While shown as being external tomemory 4012, it is to be understood that one or more of electricalcomponents 4004, 4006, 4008 and 4010 may exist within memory 4012.

FIG. 41 illustrates a system 4100 that enables interpretation of abroadcast signal that contains asynchronous and/or synchronous messages.System 4100 may reside at least partially within a mobile device. It isto be appreciated that system 4100 is represented as includingfunctional blocks, which may be functional blocks that representfunctions implemented by a processor, software, or combination thereof(e.g., firmware).

System 4100 includes a logical grouping 4102 of electrical componentsthat can act in conjunction. Logical grouping 4102 may include anelectrical component for receiving a signal that includes one or moresubsequences of broadcast information bits 4104. The one or moresubsequences can include one or more asynchronous messages, one or moresynchronous messages or both asynchronous and synchronous messages. Twoor more subsequences can be received at different periodicities or theycan be interleaved with each other.

Also included in logical grouping 4102 can be an electrical componentfor determining a position of at least one of the subsequences 4106 andan electrical component for interpreting the subsequences based in parton the determined position 4108. In accordance with some aspects, system4100 can also include an electrical component for piecing togetherportions of the broadcast signal to derive a header/body/messagesequence and/or an electrical component for determining a starting pointand ending point of the message based in part on a message format.According to some aspects, system 4100 can include an electricalcomponent for decoding a timing structure that indicates a position foreach of a plurality of subsequences of broadcast information bits. Thetiming structure can be included in the received broadcast signal.

Additionally, system 4100 may include a memory 4110 that retainsinstructions for executing functions associated with electricalcomponents 4104, 4106 and 4108. While shown as being external to memory4110, it is to be understood that one or more of electrical components4104, 4106 and 4108 may exist within memory 4110.

It is to be understood that the aspects described herein may beimplemented in hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode, orany combination thereof. For a hardware implementation, the processingunits may be implemented within one or more application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digitalsignal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

When the aspects are implemented in software, firmware, middleware ormicrocode, program code or code segments, they may be stored in amachine-readable medium, such as a storage component. A code segment mayrepresent a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, asubroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or any combination ofinstructions, data structures, or program statements. A code segment maybe coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by passingand/or receiving information, data, arguments, parameters, or memorycontents. Information, arguments, parameters, data, etc. may be passed,forwarded, or transmitted using any suitable means including memorysharing, message passing, token passing, network transmission, etc.

For a software implementation, the techniques described herein may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. The software codes may be storedin memory units and executed by processors. The memory unit may beimplemented within the processor or external to the processor, in whichcase it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via variousmeans as is known in the art.

What has been described above includes examples of one or more aspects.It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivable combinationof components or methodologies for purposes of describing theaforementioned aspects, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of variousexamples are possible. Accordingly, the described aspects are intendedto embrace all such alterations, modifications and variations that fallwithin the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Furthermore, to theextent that the term “includes” is used in either the detaileddescription or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising” is interpretedwhen employed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, the term“or” as used in either the detailed description of the claims is meantto be a “non-exclusive or”.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of transmitting a set of broadcastinformation bits using a predetermined set of bandwidth degrees offreedom, wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDMtransmission symbol, the method comprising: generating from a pluralityof broadcast information bits a first subset of broadcast informationbits and a second subset of broadcast information bits; partitioning apredetermined set of bandwidth of degrees of freedom into at least twosubsets, each subset including a plurality of bandwidth degrees offreedom; choosing a subset from the at least two subsets of bandwidthdegrees of freedom as a function of the first subset of broadcastinformation bits; selecting at least one of the bandwidth degrees offreedom in the chosen subset as a function of the second subset ofbroadcast information bits; and transmitting a beacon signal in the atleast one selected bandwidth degree of freedom.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein the beacon signal is transmitted at a power in each selectedbandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than the averagetransmission power used in each non-selected degree of freedom in theset of bandwidth degrees of freedom, X being at least 10 dB.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein partitioning the at least two subsets ofbandwidth degrees of freedom is performed in a predetermined manner andindependently of the set of broadcast information bits.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the bandwidth degrees of freedom in any of the at leasttwo subsets are contiguous.
 5. The method of claim 3, wherein the atleast two subsets are disjoint with each other.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the first and second subsets of broadcast information bitsare disjoint subsets of the set of broadcast information bits.
 7. Themethod of claim 1, wherein at least one subset of the at least twosubsets of broadcast information bits includes control information to bereceived by a wireless device for peer-to-peer communications in which awireless device communicates directly with another wireless device. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the control information includes at leastone of a frequency band location information, whether peer-to-peercommunication is allowed in the frequency band, a control parameter thatcontrols a maximum transmission power to be used by the wireless devicefor peer-to-peer communications or combinations thereof.
 9. A wirelesscommunications apparatus that transmits a set of broadcast informationbits, comprising: a memory that retains instructions related togenerating a first subset of broadcast information bits and a secondsubset of broadcast information bits, partitioning a set of bandwidthdegrees of freedom into two or more wherein a degree of freedomcomprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol, deciding which subsetto use as a function of the first subset of broadcast information bits,choosing one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom in the subset as afunction of the second subset of broadcast information and sending thechosen one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom in a beacon signal; anda processor, coupled to the memory, configured to execute theinstructions retained in the memory.
 10. The wireless communicationsapparatus of claim 9, the memory further retains instructions fortransmitting the beacon signal at a power in each selected bandwidthdegree of freedom that is X dB higher than an average transmission powerused to transmit other beacon signals, X being at least 10 dB.
 11. Thewireless communications apparatus of claim 9, wherein the memory furtherretains instructions for partitioning the two or more subsets ofbandwidth degrees of freedom in a predetermined manner and independentlyof the set of broadcast information bits.
 12. The wirelesscommunications apparatus of claim 9, wherein the two or more subsets aredisjoint with each other.
 13. The wireless communications apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the first and second subsets of broadcast informationbits are disjoint subsets of the set of broadcast information bits. 14.A wireless communications apparatus that enables independent coding ofat least two subsets of information in a beacon signal, comprising:means for creating a first subset of broadcast information bits and asecond subset of broadcast information bits from a plurality ofbroadcast information bits; means for dividing a set of bandwidthdegrees of freedom into at least two subsets wherein a degree of freedomcomprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol; means for choosing onesubset from the at least two subsets as a function of the first subsetof broadcast information bits; means for independently selecting atleast one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosen subset as afunction of the second subset of broadcast information; and means forselectively transmitting information in the at least one bandwidthdegree of freedom.
 15. The wireless communications apparatus of claim14, further comprising means for transmitting the beacon signal at apower in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10dB higher than an average transmission power used in each non-selecteddegree of freedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom.
 16. Thewireless communication apparatus of claim 14, the means for selectivelytransmitting sends the first and the at least a second subset ofinformation at a high-energy.
 17. A non-transitory machine-readablemedium having stored thereon machine-executable instructions for:producing a first and a second subset of broadcast information bits;dividing a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom into two or more subsetsfrom a plurality of broadcast information bits, wherein a degree offreedom is a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol; selecting a subsetfrom the two or more subsets as a function of the first subset ofbroadcast information bits; selecting at least one the set of bandwidthdegrees of freedom in the selected subset as a function of the secondsubset of broadcast information bits; and transmitting a beacon signalin the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom.
 18. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 17, themachine-executable instructions further comprise transmitting the beaconsignal at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that isat least 10 dB higher than the average transmission power used innon-selected degrees of freedom.
 19. The non-transitory machine-readablemedium of claim 17, where dividing the set of bandwidth degrees offreedom is performed in a predetermined manner and independently of theset of broadcast information bits.
 20. In a wireless communicationsystem, an apparatus comprising: a processor configured to: create afirst and a second subset of broadcast information bits from a pluralityof broadcast information bits; divide a set of bandwidth degrees offreedom into at least two subsets in a predetermined manner andindependently of the set of broadcast information bits; choose a subsetfrom the at least two subsets of bandwidth degrees of freedom as afunction of the first subset of broadcast information bits wherein adegree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol;select at least one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in the chosensubset as a function of the second subset of broadcast information bits;and transmit a beacon signal in the at least one selected bandwidthdegree of freedom at a power in each selected bandwidth degree offreedom that is X dB higher than an average transmission power used ineach non-selected degree of freedom in the set of bandwidth degrees offreedom, X being at least 10 db.
 21. A method for receiving a set ofbroadcast information bits, comprising: receiving a beacon symbol in atleast one bandwidth degree of freedom, wherein: a degree of freedomcomprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol; and the beacon symbolis received in the at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom ata power higher than other bandwidth degrees of freedom; determiningwhich bandwidth degree of freedom was selected from the plurality ofbandwidth degrees of freedom included in a subset; and ascertainingwhich subset was selected from at least two subsets of bandwidth degreesof freedom to determine at least a portion of the set of broadcastinformation.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the beacon symbol isreceived at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that isX dB higher than an average transmission power used in a non-selecteddegree of freedom in the set of bandwidth degrees of freedom, X being atleast 10 dB.
 23. The method of claim 21, the beacon symbol is receivedat substantially a same time as other signals.
 24. The method of claim21, wherein determining which bandwidth degree of freedom was selectedis performed independently of ascertaining which subset was selected.25. The method of claim 24, wherein the bandwidth degrees of freedom inany of the at least two subsets are contiguous.
 26. The method of claim24, wherein the at least two subsets are disjoint with each other. 27.The method of claim 21, wherein at least two subsets of the set ofbroadcast information are disjoint subsets of the set of broadcastinformation bits.
 28. The method of claim 21, wherein at least onesubset of at least two subsets of the set of broadcast informationincludes control information to be received from a base station forpeer-to-peer communications in which a first wireless devicecommunicates directly with a second wireless device.
 29. The method ofclaim 28, wherein the control information includes at least one of afrequency band location information, whether peer-to-peer communicationis allowed in the frequency band, a control parameter that controls amaximum transmission power to be used by the first wireless device forpeer-to-peer communications or combinations thereof.
 30. A wirelesscommunications apparatus that selectively decodes information receivedin a beacon signal including a set of broadcast information bits, theapparatus comprising: a memory that retains instructions related toreceiving a chosen one or more bandwidth degrees of freedom in a beaconsignal, determining which bandwidth degrees of freedom was received froma subset, wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDMtransmission symbol, deciding which subset was selected from two or moresubsets and reconstructing a set of bandwidth degrees of freedom fromthe two or more subsets; and identifying the beacon signal as beingreceived at a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom higherthan an average transmission power of other received beacon signals; anda processor, coupled to the memory, configured to execute theinstructions retained in the memory.
 31. The wireless communicationsapparatus of claim 30, the memory further retains instructions foridentifying the beacon signal as being received at the power in eachselected bandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than theaverage transmission power of other received beacon signals, X being atleast 10 dB.
 32. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 31,wherein the two or more subsets are disjoint with each other.
 33. Thewireless communications apparatus of claim 32, wherein two or moresubsets of broadcast information bits are disjoint subsets of the set ofbroadcast information bits.
 34. A wireless communications apparatus thatenables independent decoding of at least two subsets of broadcastinformation bits received in a beacon signal, comprising: means forselectively receiving information in at least one selected bandwidthdegree of freedom, wherein a degree of freedom comprises a tone in anOFDM transmission symbol and the beacon signal is received at a power inthe at least one selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is higherthan an average transmission power received for one or more non-selecteddegrees of freedom; means for independently determining which one of aplurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom in a chosen subset wasreceived; means for deciding which subset from at least two subsetsincluded the at least one of a plurality of bandwidth degrees offreedom; means for combining the at least two subsets into a set ofbandwidth degrees of freedom; and means for decoding a plurality ofbroadcast information bits from the first subset of broadcastinformation bits and the second subset of broadcast information bits.35. The wireless communications apparatus of claim 34, furthercomprising means for receiving the beacon signal at a power in eachselected bandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10 dB higher thanthe average transmission power received for each non-selected degree offreedom in the plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom.
 36. Thewireless communications apparatus of claim 34, the means for selectivelyreceiving accepts the information at a high-energy.
 37. A non-transitorymachine-readable medium having stored thereon machine-executableinstructions for: receiving a beacon signal in at least one selectedbandwidth degree of freedom, wherein a degree of freedom comprises atone in an OFDM transmission symbol, and the beacon signal is receivedat a power in each selected bandwidth degree of freedom that is higherthan an average transmission power received for non-selected degrees offreedom; determining which bandwidth degree of freedom in a subset thatincludes a plurality of bandwidth degrees of freedom was received; andascertaining which subset of broadcast information bits were chosen fromat least two subsets for the beacon signal.
 38. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 37, the machine-executable instructionsfurther comprise receiving the beacon signal at a power in each selectedbandwidth degree of freedom that is at least 10 dB higher than theaverage transmission power received for the non-selected degrees offreedom.
 39. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 37,where determining which bandwidth degree of freedom was received isindependent of ascertaining which broadcast information bits werechosen.
 40. In a wireless communication system, an apparatus comprising:a processor configured to: receive a beacon signal in at least oneselected bandwidth degree of freedom at a power in each selectedbandwidth degree of freedom that is X dB higher than an averagetransmission power used in each non-selected degree of freedom in a setof bandwidth degrees of freedom, X being at least 10 dB, and wherein adegree of freedom comprises a tone in an OFDM transmission symbol;determine at least one of the bandwidth degrees of freedom in a chosensubset that the beacon signal was received in; and ascertain whichsubset of bandwidth degrees of freedom from at least two subsets a setof bandwidth degrees of freedom was divided.